A Waynesboro resident was sentenced Thursday in the Prince H. Preston Federal Courthouse in Statesboro for 10 commercial armed robberies that he committed in Bulloch, Burke, Chatham, Emanuel, Glascock, Jenkins and Ware Counties.
Cordell Cobb, 24, was sentenced to 318 months in prison after pleading guilty to 10 counts of interference with commerce by robbery and two counts of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, Tara M. Lyons, acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia, said in an email release Thursday.
In June 2023, the Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office charged Cobb with robbing the Dollar General on Highway 80 West at Akins Pond Road and the J and T Minute Mart on Highway 25.
Also, Cobb was charged with two June 2023 robberies in Statesboro. Capt. Jared Akins with the Statesboro Police Department said in a release that SPD Patrol officers responded June 1 to the Enmarket at 1690 Fair Rd for a reported armed robbery. The clerk told officers that a man with a firearm entered the store, took money from the register and fled, Akins said.
Less than two hours later, Akins said the same man entered the Enmark at 565 Northside Drive East and robbed the clerk at that location. No one was injured in either incident.
In Statesboro Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge J. Randal Hall also ordered Cobb to serve five years of supervised release upon completion of his prison term and to pay $12,081 in restitution to the various victimized businesses.
There is no parole in the federal system.
As described in court documents and testimony, on 10 different occasions from January 2023 through June 2023, Cobb entered commercial establishments throughout the Southern District of Georgia and brandished weapons before demanding money. Employees in all 10 locations provided United States currency to Cobb to avoid physical harm and he fled the scenes.
Following a multiple agency investigation that included the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office, Jenkins County Sheriff’s Office and several others, Cobb was apprehended and ultimately admitted to committing all 10 robberies.
“This sentencing reflects the serious consequences of violent crime and the strength of coordinated law enforcement” said GBI Director Chris Hosey. “Communities across Georgia are safer today because of the tireless work of our local, state, and federal partner agencies in bringing this armed robber to justice.”
This investigation took place under the umbrella of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program that has been successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer.