A Brandon man pleaded guilty today to brandishing a firearm during two convenience store robberies.

According to court documents and admissions during public court proceedings, Tramaine Jadell Pettaway, 35, used a firearm to commit two convenience store robberies along with another individual in January and February of 2018.  One store was in Clinton and the other was in Ridgeland.  The Ridgeland Police Department was able to arrest both Pettaway and his co-defendant after a short chase following the Ridgeland convenience store robbery in February 2018.  Pettaway and his co-defendant have been in custody since their 2018 arrest.

Pettaway is scheduled to be sentenced on April 24, 2024, and faces a mandatory minimum penalty of seven years in prison up to a maximum potential penalty of life in prison, as to each count. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney Todd W. Gee of the Southern District of Mississippi and Acting Special Agent in Charge Rebecca Day of the Federal Bureau of Investigation made the announcement.

The Ridgeland Police Department, the Clinton Police Department, and the FBI are investigating the case.

Deputy Criminal Chief S. Lynn Murray is prosecuting the case.

This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.