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Suspect Sentenced to 40 Years in Prison for Rayford Road Verizon Store Robbery

By: Mike Holley
| Published 07/01/2019

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MONTGOMERY COUNTY, TX -- On June 26, 2019, Judge Patty Maginnis of the 435th District Court of Montgomery County, Texas, sentenced McKinzie Bowie of the Greenspoint area to 40 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for his Aggravated Robbery of a Verizon store located on Rayford Road. Bowie was 17 years old on May 12th, 2018, when he entered the store with a loaded gun in his hand just as the sole store employee was in the process of closing for the night. An unarmed 16 year old assisted Bowie during the robbery. The sentence was handed down by Judge Maginnis following a sentencing hearing held on June 26th.

Upon entering the store, Bowie put the employee on the floor and ordered him to say where the money and cell phones were located. The employee directed Bowie and the 16 year to a small back room where a safe was located. The employee did not resist and told Bowie to take whatever he wanted. Despite this, Bowie took the employee into the backroom and put him face first against a wall. Bowie then pressed the loaded gun barrel against the back of the employee's head while the 16 year old loaded up a large bag with cash and cellphones from the safe. Bowie and his co-defendant then fled.

The employee was able to call 911. Montgomery County Pct. 3 Constable Deputies, with the assistance of Montgomery County Sheriff's Office Deputies, quickly responded and encountered the two robbers in a stolen van at the intersection of Rayford Road & 1-45. Inside the van was the gun containing a loaded magazine, a bag with almost $800 in cash and multiple cell phones, and items used for masks. After a short chase on foot, deputies caught the robbers, took them into custody and returned them and the stolen items to the Verizon store.

Bowie had previously pled Guilty in April of 2019 to this Aggravated Robbery charge, along with a stolen vehicle charge and a charge for possession of identifying information of another person. In addition to the 40 year TDCJ sentence. on the Aggravated Robbery charge, Judge Maginnis also sentenced Bowie to 1 year State Jail each on the vehicle theft and ID cases. Bowie will not be eligible for parole on the Aggravated Robbery sentence until 2038. Eligibility for parole does not guarantee parole. Bowie had no previous felony convictions, but did have a pending Harris county Evading Arrest charge as a juvenile that occurred just 3 months before the Verizon store robbery.

Chief Prosecutor Jim Prewitt: 'Thanks to the quick response of Pct. 3 Constable and MCSO Deputies, this violent youthful offender was quickly apprehended and the community made safe and secure. Judge Maginnis' sentence acknowledges how truly dangerous Bowie's actions were and that Montgomery County citizens and employees deserve the right to work and go about their day without having a loaded gun jammed against the back of their head.'

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