BRUNSWICK, Ga. — Two men with reported gang ties plead guilty on numerous charges Tuesday in Brunswick Judicial Court, stemming from a string of March 2023 robberies.
Jerome Hall, 18, was sentenced to 13 years in prison and Verdez Pinkston was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Prosecutors said both Hall and Pinkston are identified members of the Exterminator Gang, a local gang under the umbrella of the national Rollin 60s Crips.
Both plead guilty armed robbery and aggravated assault in one case, and in the other case, two counts of armed robbery, one count of aggravated assault, one count of aggravated battery and seven counts of the Violation of the Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act.
Prosecutors said that on March 10, 2023, Brunswick Police responded to an armed robbery call at Tropic Island Grocery located on Norwich Street and encountered a victim who stated he had gone into the store to cash his $800 paycheck. After he left the store, he started to drive away when a man dressed in black, wearing a ski mask and gloves, approached and pointed a handgun at his head and ordered him to pull over.
After pulling over, two men demanded money from the victim, prosecutors said. The victim gave them his wallet and the assailants took the $800 and pistol whipped him.
The next day, Glynn County Police responded to an armed robbery call at the Druid Oaks Mobile Home Park located at on U.S. 17 in Brunswick. Police interviewed two victims who said they were walking toward the entrance of the park when two men dressed in black wearing masks approached them pointing handguns. Both victims gave the men their wallets and cell phones and were then both pistol-whipped.
Authorities found clothing matching the descriptions of the men on social media posts and in Pinkston's apartment, in addition to guns and ski masks.
Another witness familiar with Hall identified him from the surveillance video based on the clothing he
was wearing and a vehicle he borrowed that matched the description of the car from the robbery. The witness had also loaned Hall her vehicle.
“Criminal Street Gangs prey on the innocent in cities across the country," Assistant District Attorney Leland McElveen said. "In Glynn County, we are working to ensure that their conduct will not be tolerated in our community.”
