A Saluda County jury has found Demarcus L. Robinson, of Ridge Spring, guilty of Armed Robbery, Kidnapping, and Possession of a Weapon during commission of a Violent Crime. He was sentenced to twenty five (25) years by Circuit Court Judge Robert E. Hood following a trial which ended earlier today. The charges are violent crimes and classified as “no parole” offenses.

Eleventh Circuit Solicitor Rick Hubbard stated, “The combination of the victim’s description of the suspect and law enforcement’s quick actions to preserve key evidence allowed our office to successfully prosecute this case.” The case was prosecuted by Assistant Solicitor Doug Fender and Senior Assistant Solicitor Al Eargle.

In the early morning hours of August 1, 2016, Robinson entered the Circle K convenience store located on Main Street in the town of Ridge Spring in Saluda County.  Robinson was armed with a loaded .38 caliber revolver.  With his face covered, Robinson approached the clerk from behind while pushing the barrel of the revolver into the clerk’s back.  Robinson forced the clerk to walk over to the cash register where he stole cash and cigarettes before fleeing the scene.  Robinson was later apprehended by law enforcement and found to be in possession of the revolver used in the robbery and items which had been stolen from the store. The robbery was recorded by video surveillance. The store clerk was able to provide a description of the suspect which included unique star tattoos on his arm. The same star tattoos were observed on Robinson and photographed by law enforcement at the time of his arrest. 

The trial included testimony from the store clerk and multiple law enforcement officers, including Michael Raffield, who served as Chief of Police for Ridge Spring at the time of the crime.  The investigation was assisted by the Town of Saluda Police Department and the Saluda County Sherriff’s Office. Additional assistance was provided by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) through the forensics lab and Agent Joe West who enhanced the quality of the video surveillance recording from the store.  

Robinson had prior criminal convictions for assault and battery, larceny, and receiving stolen goods. He will be transported to the S.C. Department of Corrections to begin immediate service of the sentence.