RICHMOND, Va. – The Richmond man who robbed four Central Virginia grocery stores over a four-day span in November 2020 was sentenced to 11 years in prison. In addition to the grocery store robberies, Michael B. Bishop, 48, stole his friend's pickup truck and led police on a pursuit on I-95 and I-295 prior to his arrest, according to court documents.
The crime spree began November 20, 2020, when Bishop stole the truck. He then proceeded to rob the Whole Foods Market in Glen Allen, the Wegmans in Short Pump, the Trader Joe’s in Richmond, and a Publix in Midlothian.
"At each robbery, Bishop entered the grocery store wearing a face mask. Aside from the Whole Foods Market robbery, Bishop explicitly stated that he had a firearm or appeared to hold his hand in his pocket as if he had a firearm. At the Trader Joe’s robbery, Bishop brandished a firearm at the victim cashier," an email from the United States Attorney's Office read. "Based on witness interviews and review of surveillance video from Publix and Wegmans, investigators from Henrico, Richmond, and Chesterfield identified Bishop as the main suspect and obtained an arrest warrant. When law enforcement sought to arrest Bishop on November 25, 2020, Bishop entered the F-150 and took officers on a nearly 10-minute high-speed pursuit across several highways, including I-95 northbound and I-295 southbound. Bishop was only apprehended after officers used a pitting maneuver to stop the vehicle."
When he was arrested, Bishop was on probation following time served in Henrico for committing two 2013 robberies.
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