The so-called “fake-beard robber” pleaded guilty to 28 counts of robbery today in the Eastern District Court of Virginia without a plea agreement.
Ronald Wayne Carr admitted he committed robberies of stores in Newport News, Hampton and York County between Dec. 18 , 2010, and Dec. 27, 2012, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Carr is not to be confused with another robber who wore a fake beard when he robbed a pair of banks last week.
Carr was indicted federally in January and now faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each of the robbery charges. He will be sentenced Sept. 11.
His guilty plea included a statement of facts where he admitted to robbing Advance Auto Parts, AutoZone, Bojangles’, Captain D’s, Dollar General, Family Dollar, KFC and Long John Silver’s. The stores were located in York County, Hampton and Newport News, and in some cases, he robbed different branches of the same franchise, according to the release.
Carr brandished a firearm during the robberies, though it was never discharged and nobody was ever hurt. When he attempted to rob an AutoZone in York County, he was confronted by one of the store’s employees, who had gone to his vehicle and retrieved his personal weapon. That employee was later fired over the incident.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Washington Field Division, with the assistance of the York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Department, the Newport News Police Department and the Hampton Police Division.
