Father, Son, Others Sentenced for Armed Robberies: Defendants Robbed a Family-Owned Restaurant and a Bank

Clifford Durham, Jr., 39, of Conyers, Georgia; and Clifford DeAngelo Jackson, 23, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, were sentenced yesterday and today by United States District Judge William S. Duffey, Jr. to federal prison on charges of armed attempted bank robbery, armed commercial robbery, and using and carrying firearms during crimes of violence. Durham is Jackson’s father, and the father/son pair planned and executed two robberies with the help of three other co-defendants. Judge Duffey sentenced the three co-defendants earlier this week.
United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said, “While violent crime rates have declined, armed robberies continue to be a threat to public safety, particularly when the crimes target thriving businesses. Family-owned businesses are particularly vulnerable to the whims of an offender who is determined to take hard-earned profits for his own financial gain. We will continue to work with our state and local law enforcement partners to identify and locate violent offenders who impede interstate commerce and endanger our communities.”
Mark F. Giuliano, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office, stated, “These individuals, through their actions, displayed a reckless disregard for the safety of others, and they would have no doubt continued until they were caught. Their arrest, conviction, and prison sentence will go far in the further reduction of violent crimes that we’ve seen in the metro Atlanta area.”
Durham was sentenced to 50 years, eight months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. Durham was convicted of the commercial robbery and related gun charges on August 2, 2012, after a trial, and was convicted of the attempted bank robbery and related gun charges upon his plea of guilty.
Jackson was sentenced to 16 years, two months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Jackson was convicted of the commercial robbery charge on August 2, 2012, after a trial, and was convicted of the attempted bank robbery and related gun charges upon his plea of guilty.
Rashad Rogers, 21, of College Park, Georgia, was sentenced to 13 years, 10 months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. Rogers was convicted of the attempted bank robbery and related gun charges upon his plea of guilty.
Mark Zanders, 22, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, was sentenced to nine years, eight months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Zanders was convicted of the attempted bank robbery and related gun charges upon his plea of guilty.
Theodore Spencer, 25, of Baltimore, Maryland, was sentenced to six years, 10 months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. Spencer was convicted of using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to the commercial robbery upon his plea of guilty.
According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges and other information presented in court: Durham and Jackson were charged in two separate indictments with robbing a small, family-owned restaurant in downtown Stone Mountain in November 2010 and attempting to rob a Wells Fargo Bank on Clairmont Road in DeKalb County in April 2011. Durham and Jackson planned and executed each robbery and conspired with a different group of individuals on each occasion.
For the November 2010 robbery, Jackson enlisted the help of co-conspirator Spencer, who worked at the business that was the robbery target. Jackson and Spencer planned the robbery, and Jackson recruited his father, Durham, to execute the robbery as planned. During the robbery, Durham shot the restaurant owner’s son, who narrowly avoided more serious injuries by running underneath a food preparation table and out of the restaurant’s front door.
Jackson and Durham’s involvement was fully discovered after they attempted to commit a second robbery in April 2011. Durham planned to rob a Wells Fargo bank and recruited his son Jackson to participate in the crime. Durham also brought co-defendants Rogers and Zanders into the scheme. During that robbery attempt, Jackson, Rogers, and Zanders entered the bank branch brandishing guns and ordered all of the customers to the ground. The bank employees refused to allow the robbers access to the glass-enclosed teller line, so they left the bank without any money and fled with Durham, who was the getaway driver.
A short distance away from the bank, an officer of the DeKalb County Police Department located the defendants at a busy intersection during rush-hour traffic. When the police officer tried to apprehend the robbers, one of the robbers fired a shot from inside of the vehicle through the car window, endangering the lives of the officer and bystanders who were nearby. The defendants managed to elude law enforcement that day but were apprehended shortly thereafter.
This case was investigated by special agents of the FBI.
Assistant United States Attorneys Nekia S. Hackworth and Phyllis Clerk prosecuted the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Information Office at USAGAN.Pressemails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is www.justice.gov/usao/gan.