Man who used finger in shirt during robberies gets jail
By Brendan Kirby
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MOBILE, Alabama (WALA) — Christopher R. Casey stuck his finger under his shirt two years ago and told clerks at three businesses that he had a gun. Not all of them believed him, but the robbery attempts will send him to prison for more than 12 years.
Senior U.S. District Judge Ginny Granade on Wednesday sentenced Christopher R. Casey, 51, to 12 years and seven months for interfering with interstate commerce. He will serve that time simultaneously with additional time he got on a parole revocation plus any time he might receive for the offenses in state court.
The robberies occurred on Oct. 12, 2019.
According to Casey’s plea agreement, he held up employees at an Exxon gas station on Moffett Road and a Raceway gas station on Schillinger Road North. He also unsuccessfully tried to rob a Velero gas station on Tanner Williams Road, according to court records.
The plea document states that Casey held his right hand under his shirt and threatened to shoot the clerk at the Velero station if she did not give him money from the cash register. But when she refused, he ran out and drove away in a Chevrolet pickup truck with a camper shell. Although Casey was unsuccessful, the ensuing police investigation forced the store to close for a time.
About a half-hour later, Casey admitted, he used the same approach at the Exxon and got away with $183 in cash.
At the Raceway that same evening, Casey again faced a noncompliant clerk when he said he had a gun under his shirt. But he went behind the counter and stole $400, according to the plea agreement.
A Mobile police officer arrested Casey after a lengthy chase that ended when officers disabled the defendant’s vehicle at the intersection of Springhill Avenue and Florida Street.
After this sentence, the judge ordered, Casey will be on supervised release for three years. She also ordered him to be subjected substance abuse testing and treatment and to pay back the money he stole.
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