A Newton, North Carolina man has been given a ten-year-plus prison sentence for engaging in a string of armed robberies, notably targeting HT Hackney delivery trucks. U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, Dena J. King, confirmed that Adrian Alexander Bryson, 29, is to serve 121 months behind bars, following a series of robberies that occurred between October and December 2022. After his prison term, Bryson will also have three years of supervised release. This information comes according to a statement released by the U.S. Department of Justice.
During the criminal spree, Bryson, alongside his accomplices, donned masks and threatened truck drivers with firearms or the impression of being armed. The robbers targeted the more valuable tobacco products, ultimately resulting in HT Hackney reporting losses exceeding $70,800 — representative of 1,129 cartons of cigarettes stolen. An investigation led to the discovery of a red/maroon GMC Envoy connected to some of the incidents, which was eventually traced back to an address affiliated with Bryson. Adding to the case, Bryson was a former employee of HT Hackney, working there from May to September 2022 and including being confronted over missing cigarette cartons during that tenure — information obtained by the Department of Justice.
Law enforcement arrested Bryson on December 28, 2022, and further evidence surfaced, including shipping containers from HT Hackney and communication that tied Bryson directly to the robberies. He was found staying at a hotel in Hickory, where a search warrant revealed the damning evidence. Bryson subsequently admitted his involvement in orchestrating the robberies during interviews with law enforcement officials. Earlier this year, Bryson accepted his guilt, pleading to charges of Hobbs Act Robbery and possession and brandishing a firearm in the commission of a crime of violence, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's office.
The case was prosecuted as part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that aims to reduce violent crime and gun violence through a collaboration of various levels of law enforcement and community organizations. Compliments were extended to the ATF and the Mooresville Police Department for their investigation, leading to Bryson's conviction. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney William Wiseman of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte led the prosecution. Wiseman, also a state prosecutor with the office of the 26th Prosecutorial District, is uniquely sworn into both state and federal courts and represents the partnership between district and federal law enforcement entities.
