Two men have been convicted in a 2020 armed robbery of a woman at a Woodstock gas station, the district attorney’s office in Cherokee County announced Thursday.
Brandon Devontae Kemp, 29, of Smyrna, and Kerrick McCaslin, 24, of Atlanta, arrived at the Circle K gas station on Ga. 92 just after midnight Jan. 24, 2020, and loitered in the store for about an hour, prosecutors said. The duo then went outside to smoke and spotted the victim, a lone woman pumping gas, and tried to take her vehicle at gunpoint.
Prosecutors said McCaslin took out a firearm while Kemp climbed into the driver’s seat. The frightened victim then ran into the store, keys in hand, and asked for help, according to the DA’s office. In the meantime, McCaslin grabbed the woman’s purse from inside her vehicle, and the two men ran away.
Woodstock police were called and began their investigation. By 6 a.m., the two suspects were spotted at a Walmart. Police were alerted and the suspects were quickly arrested.
McCaslin was carrying the loaded pistol used in the crime in the waistband of his pants, and Kemp was holding the victim’s cash, according to the prosecution. Police also found the victim’s belongings under a shelving unit near where Kemp was arrested and next to a dumpster.
Just before the trial, McCaslin pleaded guilty to armed robbery and possession of a firearm. Senior Judge Matthew Simmons sentenced him on May 23 to 25 years, with the first 10 in prison and the remainder on probation, a news release states.
Kemp chose to move forward with a trial, and a jury found him guilty of armed robbery, hijacking a motor vehicle, aggravated assault, theft by taking and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. He was sentenced May 25 to life in prison without the possibility of parole plus 25 years.
“We are pleased with this guilty verdict and the sentences for both defendants,” District Attorney Shannon Wallace said in a statement. “Thanks to the hard work of law enforcement and the prosecution of this case, two dangerous criminals will no longer be on our streets. Our hearts go out to the victim who was understandably traumatized.”
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