GREENVILLE — A federal jury has convicted a Holmes County man of armed robbery and using a firearm during a violent crime in connection with a 2023 holdup at a Dollar General store in Carroll County, authorities said.
Carleone Pate Jr., 21, of Lexington, was found guilty of Hobbs Act robbery and brandishing a firearm during the crime, U.S. Attorney Scott F. Leary announced.
According to court records, the robbery occurred Jan. 19, 2023, when a masked gunman entered the Dollar General in the Black Hawk community and demanded money from the cash register and safe.
Law enforcement officers launched a search following the robbery and established perimeter checkpoints in the area.
Pate was later arrested in the woods of northern Holmes County by an off-duty game warden with assistance from a Mississippi Department of Transportation employee, officials said.
Authorities said investigators were able to identify Pate through evidence gathered during the investigation led by the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Mississippi Highway Patrol and other agencies.
At the time of the robbery, Pate had recently been released from prison after serving a sentence for aggravated assault convictions in DeSoto County and was out on bail, officials said.
U.S. District Judge Debra M. Brown will sentence Pate at a later date.
The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office as part of a federal initiative targeting violent crime.
