JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A 26-year-old Valdosta, Ga., man was sentenced Tuesday to 16 years and two months in federal prison for 11 counts of armed robbery and two counts of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
Eddie Battles pleaded guilty on June 20.
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According to court documents, Battles started robbing Dollar General stores in and around south Georgia and north Florida in November 2011. In most of the robberies, he used a loaded Hi-Point 9mm pistol.
Battles acted alone until March 2012, when his brother, Eric Williams, joined in the robberies. Together, Battles and Williams robbed four Dollar General stores and one Family Dollar store in north Florida during March and April 2012. They were caught and arrested after a robbery in Welborn on April 18, 2012.
Battles had worked as a substitute teacher in Valdosta during the time he committed the robberies. He also previously worked as an assistant manager at the Dollar General store in Lake Park, Ga. The Lake Park store was the first one he robbed.
Williams pleaded guilty for his role in the offenses on Aug. 21 and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 14.