Denzel Demoree’a Prince, 28, pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to robbing a Jacksonville hotel at gunpoint, admitting he was the masked man seen on security video pointing a firearm, smashing a window and forcing his way behind the front desk during a Sept. 8, 2025 incident. By his own admission, he used the gun during the robbery and now faces years behind bars.
According to federal prosecutors, Prince first walked up to the hotel desk asking for money back from a vending machine, then left when the clerk told him to return in the morning. Minutes later, they say, he came back wearing a camouflage-style mask and carrying a firearm. Security cameras captured him throwing a brick through a window, climbing behind the front desk, grabbing cash from the register and fleeing out the back door. Officers later searched Prince’s home and recovered clothing that matched the footage, and prosecutors say he admitted to the robbery in a plea agreement, according to Action News Jax.
Legal implications
Federal prosecutors charged conduct like this under statutes that can pile on serious, often consecutive time: the Hobbs Act, which covers robbery that affects interstate commerce, and 18 U.S.C. § 924(c), which enhances sentences when a firearm is used during a crime of violence. The Hobbs Act can carry up to 20 years in prison, while § 924(c) imposes mandatory minimums, seven years when a firearm is brandished, and can escalate to decades or life in more serious or repeat-offender cases. Those sentencing rules are outlined in a Congressional Research Service summary on Congress.gov.
What happens next
Prince’s guilty plea pushes the case into the sentencing phase, where a federal judge will set a date and decide his punishment within the statutory and guideline ranges. Because of the firearm enhancement, prosecutors say the case carries at least a seven-year consecutive minimum, with potentially much more time once any sentence for the underlying robbery is added. Court filings and statements from the U.S. Attorney’s Office will provide public updates as the sentencing date is set and written recommendations are submitted.
