A Tampa resident, Kavar Young, has entered a guilty plea to charges including robbery, conspiracy to commit the same crime, and firearm brandishing during the incident, according to a recent announcement by U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe. Court documents indicate that in August 2023, Young was involved in a robbery at a Temple Terrace convenience store. The U.S. Attorney's Office reports that Young could face up to 20 years in prison for the robbery and conspiracy counts, with a minimum mandatory sentence of seven years for the firearms count, which could extend to a life sentence and would run consecutively to any other punishment.
During the robbery on August 12, 2023, Young reportedly pointed a firearm at the head of a victim while demanding money and also threatened a second store employee and a customer with the weapon. Court proceedings brought forward evidence, including Young's DNA found on a potato chip bag in the store, which he had touched, and on a firearm that was visually similar to the one used during the crime. Leanna Bryant, a co-defendant from Tampa, had previously submitted a guilty plea, as noted by the Department of Justice.
Multiple agencies, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and several local police departments have conducted the investigation leading to Young's conviction. Assistant United States Attorney Samantha Newman is responsible for the prosecution of the case. The case forms part of the broader effort known as Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a nationwide initiative aimed at bringing various levels of law enforcement and communities together to address violent crime and gun violence, ultimately striving for safer neighborhoods.
Launched officially on May 26, 2021, by the Department of Justice, the PSN strategy emphasizes building trust within communities, supporting community organizations in violence prevention, prioritizing strategic law enforcement interventions, and measuring the outcomes of these endeavors.
