POLK COUNTY, Fla. – A Davenport man is heading to federal prison for nearly a dozen years after a social media meetup turned into a violent armed robbery. U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle sentenced 24-year-old Armoni Tyree Moody to 11 years and 9 months behind bars for carjacking and weapons charges.
The sentencing follows a trial last October, where a federal jury found Moody guilty of the crimes.
According to court records, the incident began with a plan to meet up. Moody had arranged to meet the victim through social media under the pretense of buying marijuana. When the two met, Moody got into the passenger seat of the victim’s car.
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Once inside, the situation escalated immediately. Moody pulled out a loaded handgun, pressed it against the victim’s head, and demanded the driver hand over two cellphones. He then told the victim to get out of the vehicle or he would shoot him. The victim complied, and Moody drove away with the car.
Law enforcement caught up with Moody quickly.
The very next day, officers executed a search warrant at his home. Inside Moody’s bedroom, they found the loaded gun used in the attack along with the victim’s personal belongings. The stolen car was also discovered nearby.
The case against him was strengthened by digital evidence; detectives found text messages on Moody’s phone where he discussed planning the robbery, as well as videos posted to his social media accounts that showed him holding the same firearm.
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U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announced the result, noting that the court also ordered Moody to forfeit the gun and ammunition.
This wasn’t Moody’s first offense; at the time of the carjacking, he was already serving probation for a prior conviction of robbery with a weapon.
Because of that record, he faced additional charges for possessing ammunition as a convicted felon. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Chang following a joint investigation by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the FBI.
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