GREENSBORO, N.C. — A man from New York was sentenced in Greensboro yesterday to 35 years in prison, according to an announcement from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Middle District of North Carolina.
Ryan Lewis Little, 40, of New York, faced robbery, firearm, and intimidation charges related to an attempted murder stemming from conduct in the Middle District of North Carolina and the Southern District of New York.
Little was charged and pleaded guilty in May to interference with commerce by robbery and retaliating against a witness by attempted murder. He pleaded guilty in June to a separate charge for interference with commerce by robbery and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence for incidents occurring in the Southern District of New York.
Court records showed that on April 8, 2022, around 7 p.m. officers from the Greensboro Police Department responded to a report of an attempted armed robbery at the Chemistry Nightclub Food Truck on Spring Garden Street.
A food truck employee reported an armed man had attempted to rob the food truck at gunpoint.
Footage from the food truck’s surveillance cameras showed a man walking up to the steps of the food truck. The man pulled out a silver handgun and pointed it at the food truck employee asking, “Where is the money?” The employee then told the man there was no money. The man pushed the employee and ran from the food truck. The man in the footage was later identified as Little.
The attempted robbery at the Chemistry Nightclub Food Truck had been one in a series of robberies that law enforcement authorities had been investigating since March 2022.
A witness who spoke with law enforcement as part of the ongoing investigation was shot by Little in the face on the morning of April 12, 2022. Little then fled from North Carolina.
Officers from the New York Police Department arrived at the scene of a reported robbery at a restaurant on April 20, 2022, around 10:30 p.m. An employee from the restaurant told law enforcement a man entered the restaurant and brandished a silver firearm partially concealed beneath a newspaper. The man took about $1,500 from the cash register at the restaurant, according to a statement from the employee. The employee followed the man to a nearby park.
Officers saw Little emerge from the bushes and attempt to flee the area. They chased him and Little was arrested with about $1,100 in cash on him. Law enforcement traced the path Little fled and discovered a loaded silver pistol. A witness approached the NYPD after Little was arrested and told them Little had attempted to carjack him after robbing the restaurant.
The investigation was completed by the Greensboro Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, and Firearms, and New York Police Department.
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