Three Memphis Men Receive Significant Federal Sentences after Carjacking and Robbery Spree

Memphis, TN - Three Memphis men have been sentenced to a total of 66 years in federal prison after being convicted of three carjackings and three business robberies that occurred in the spring of 2022. Kevin G. Ritz, United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, announced the sentences today.

According to the information presented in court, Jermiah Jones, 24, Kevontae Harper, 22, and James Payne, 21, participated in a crime spree that included three carjackings and a series of armed robberies of Memphis businesses. All three men pled guilty to three counts of carjacking, three counts of business robbery, and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.

United States District Court Judge Thomas L. Parker sentenced Harper to 25 years of imprisonment on February 14, 2024; Payne to 15 years of imprisonment on March 1, 2024; and Jones to 26 years of imprisonment on July 17, 2024. There is no parole in the federal system.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Safe Streets Task Force, a collective comprised of federal, state, and local law enforcement personnel.

United States Attorney Kevin G. Ritz thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Elizabeth Rogers and Jermal Blanchard, who prosecuted this case, as well as the law enforcement partners who investigated this case.

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