In a significant development reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office, Floyd Neal, a 31-year-old man from Washington D.C., has been handed a 157-month prison sentence for executing a series of armed robberies at pharmacies across Virginia and Maryland in 2021. Neal's sentencing came after his guilty plea on March 18, 2024, which involved three counts of interference with commerce by robbery and aiding and abetting, alongside a firearms charge connected to drug trafficking offenses.
The series of crimes, which began to unfold on Valentine's Day of 2021, saw Neal and his accomplices forcefully taking prescription drugs from a pharmacy in Henrico, Virginia. As part of his plea, Neal admitted to brandishing a firearm and demanding potent narcotics such as codeine and oxycodone, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. The crime spree continued over the following weeks, with similar incidents taking place in Alexandria, Virginia, and Beltsville, Maryland, involving the theft of significant sums of money and medications.
During one notable incident on April 1, 2021, Neal's dangerous endeavors culminated in Manassas, Virginia, where his threatening behavior coerced pharmacy staff to hand over prescription medications under duress. The arrest that followed quickly turned up a loaded 9mm Hipoint C9 firearm near the scene of the crime, tying Neal to the armed robberies. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson subsequently sentenced Neal to more than 13 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release.
This case was a concerted effort involving the FBI Violent Crimes Task Force, drawing critically upon the support of local law enforcement agencies from Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. The investigation and subsequent prosecution by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua Gold and Cameron Tepfer underscored the gravity of the crimes and their implications on interstate commerce, given that the targeted pharmacies were part of national chains. In a statement, FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Scott emphasized the crucial partnership between federal and local law enforcement to combat violent crime and protect community businesses.
