ABOVE: Watch a previous report about the fatal 2019 shooting at the Players Paradise internet cafe.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A Columbus man pleaded guilty Tuesday for acting as the getaway driver in an internet café robbery that resulted in the death of two people.
Justice B. Stringer, 28, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court Tuesday to two counts each of robbery and aiding and abetting murder using a firearm, and one count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.
The plea agreement included a sentence of 30 years in prison.
Stringer was among five men indicted for committing three internet café robberies in late 2018 and early 2019.
Court records state that Chris A. King, 27, and one other man were driven by Stringer to Players Paradise internet café on East Broad Street on Jan. 20, 2019, with the intention of robbing the business. The robbery resulted in the shooting deaths of the café’s security guard, Joseph Arrington, and his wife, Karen, an employee at the café. The group also robbed the same business at gunpoint on Dec. 10, 2018, escaping with $30,000 in cash, court records state.
Additionally, the group was accused of robbing a second internet café, Planet Jackpot on Alum Creek Drive, on Jan. 7, 2019, escaping with $2,400.
In addition to Stringer and King, the other defendants in the case are Brisco Dawkins, 50; Dezhan Townsend, 20; and Desjuan Harris, 24. With the exception of King, all have pleaded guilty to federal crimes. King’s trial is scheduled to begin on April 3.