Two men from Houston have been handed a lengthy 14-year sentence each for their roles in a pair of armed robberies targeting local convenience stores. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas announced the sentencing of Derian Joel Caesar and Centel Devon Willis Jr. After entering guilty pleas back in April, the two faced the consequences of their actions before U.S. District Judge Alfred H. Bennett.
Judge Bennett sentenced them to prison terms followed by five years of supervised release after their release. He warned Willis that if he continued making similar choices after imprisonment, he could either return to prison or face death. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, this warning was intended to highlight the seriousness of a life affected by criminal behavior.
Caesar and Willis's admissions detailed how on March 15, 2023, they collaborated to rob two 7-Eleven stores in Harris and Fort Bend Counties. The statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office recounts that while Caesar brandished a black firearm to clear the cash registers, Willis trained a semiautomatic handgun on store employees.
The investigation led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, culminated in the recent sentencings. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin R. Martin prosecuted the case. Currently in custody, Caesar and Willis are awaiting their transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility, which will be determined soon.
