CLEARWATER, Fla. – A Gainesville man will spend more than a decade behind bars for a 2023 armed hold-up at a Clearwater convenience store, where suspects were caught on camera hunting for a safe they never found.
U.S. District Judge Daniel L. Hovland has sentenced Jhakheem Smith, 26, to 10 years and 6 months in federal prison. The sentence follows a legal process that saw Smith plead guilty to some charges while fighting others at trial.
The incident unfolded on November 8, 2023. According to evidence and testimony presented in court, Smith and a co-defendant, identified as Jones, stormed the business. Surveillance footage played a central role in the prosecution, capturing the moment both men leaped over the counter to confront a victim.
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The video reportedly showed Smith scouring the store, searching for a safe that was alleged to contain additional cash. The safe was never located. The footage also recorded Smith attempting to damage the store’s security cameras to cover their tracks.
Beyond the video evidence, investigators obtained a search warrant for Jones’s phone. The device contained text messages between the two men that outlined the planning of the robbery.
Smith’s road to sentencing was split. Earlier this year, he pleaded guilty to robbing and conspiring to rob the store. However, he pleaded not guilty to brandishing a firearm during a violent crime. He proceeded to trial on the gun charge, where a federal jury found him guilty in March 2025.
His co-defendant, Jones, pleaded guilty to all three charges in the indictment. Jones received a heavier sentence earlier this year, having been ordered on February 6 to serve 12 years and 11 months in federal prison.
The investigation was a joint effort involving the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Clearwater Police Department, the Largo Police Department, and the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Samantha Newman prosecuted the case.
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