COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCBD) – A California man was convicted of a string of jewelry store robberies including one in the Charleston Area.
Charles Eloys Johnson, 35, of California, was convicted of five separate counts, one count of conspiracy to commit robbery affecting interstate commerce, two counts of robbery affecting interstate commerce, and two counts of brandishing a firearm during a violent crime.
According to testimony at the trial, Johnson and others traveled from Atlanta to rob Sylvan Jewelers in Columbia, SC, on February 19, 2015, and MP Demetre Jewelers in Charleston, SC, on March 4, 2015.
Two other defendants are still awaiting trial.
The conviction is the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigations, City of Charleston Police Department and Columbia Police Department.
The conspiracy and robbery counts each carry up to twenty years in prison and the gun charges carry a mandatory consecutive five years plus twenty-five years in prison.
