Home Chesterfield man to serve 12 years in prison for series of armed robberies in Richmond area
Virginia

Chesterfield man to serve 12 years in prison for series of armed robberies in Richmond area

Crystal Graham
firearm courtroom gavel bullets
(© cherylvb – stock.adobe.com)

A Chesterfield man was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison after a series of armed robberies in 2023 in the Richmond area.

Kumkio Leftha Martin, 31, pled guilty on Nov. 12, 2024, to armed robbery and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence in May 2023. As part of his plea, he also admitted to committing an April 2023 robbery.

According to court documents, on April 22, 2023, two victims were robbed at gunpoint on Dunston Avenue in Richmond. The victims described the incident and the robber to police who then located surveillance cameras that captured a suspect vehicle. Police identified the license plate and determined that the vehicle was registered to Martin’s girlfriend, who was not identified.

The next day, on April 23, 2023, Martin entered a convenience store in Chesterfield and pointed a gun at people inside demanding money and cigarettes. He took phones from the victims and a bag containing a laptop, payroll checks, credit cards, cash and car keys. Footage from a nearby camera showed a sedan resembling the suspect vehicle from the day before.

On May 4, 2023, Martin entered a tobacco store in Richmond and brandished a firearm. He demanded money and vaping products from a store employee. Martin’s girlfriend was also in the store. About two minutes after Martin fled, the suspect vehicle drove past the store.

Police located Martin and the vehicle and performed a felony traffic stop.

Law enforcement later performed a search of the girlfriend’s residence and located the firearm the defendant used in the May 4, 2023, robbery.

Martin was sentenced Tuesday to 12 years and three months in prison, according to a news release from the office of U.S. Attorney Erik S. Siebert in the Eastern District of Virginia

Crystal Graham

Crystal Graham

Crystal Abbe Graham is the regional editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1999 graduate of Virginia Tech, she has worked for 25 years as a reporter and editor for several Virginia publications, written a book, and garnered more than a dozen Virginia Press Association awards for writing and graphic design. She was the co-host of "Viewpoints," a weekly TV news show, and co-host of Virginia Tonight, a nightly TV news show on PBS. Her work on "Virginia Tonight" earned her a national Telly award for excellence in television.