RICHMOND, Va. — A Richmond man pleaded guilty to robbing two stores of nearly $50,000 worth of smartphones and tablets.
Julius Ripley, 60, of Richmond, forced workers in those stores to take off their clothes while he committed the crimes.
Ripley admitted to robbing the Adcomm store (Sprint) in Colonial Heights on February 1, 2015, and the Wireless Zone store (Verizon) in Mechanicsville on March 2, 2015.
“He entered the business[es] with a small, semi-automatic handgun and demanded the employees give him cell phones and cash,” according to United States Attorney Dana J. Boente’s office. “He then had the employees remove their clothing and ordered them at gunpoint into the bathroom.”
Ripley got away with $39,912 worth of phones and tablets from the Colonial Heights store and $8,950 from the Mechanicsville store.
Ripley was ordered to pay back the victims. He faces 20 years in prison when he is sentenced in July.
