Myrtle Beach Armed Robber and Get-Away Driver Sentenced to Federal Prison
Florence, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Sherri A. Lydon announced today that Jeremy Lamar Hayes, 29, and Kennedy Boggs, 26, were sentenced in federal court in Florence on federal robbery and gun charges. Hayes previously pleaded guilty to two counts of Hobbs Act Robbery (robbery affecting commerce) and two counts of Brandishing a Firearm during a Crime of Violence. Boggs pleaded guilty to one count of Conspiracy to Commit Hobbs Act Robbery and one count of Aiding and Abetting the Brandishing of a Firearm during a Crime of Violence. Chief United States District Judge R. Bryan Harwell sentenced Hayes to 240 months in federal prison, followed by 5 years of court-ordered supervision. He sentenced Boggs to 108 months in federal prison, followed by 5 years of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system.
Evidence presented to the court showed that on January 29, 2018, officers from the Myrtle Beach Police Department (MBPD) responded to an armed robbery at a dry cleaner in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Hayes entered the location, presented a firearm, and demanded money from the register and the victim’s wallet. Hayes took money from the register, the victim’s wallet and cell phone, and the store phone and then fled in a vehicle.
The next day, MBPD officers responded to an armed robbery at a restaurant in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Hayes entered the location, presented a firearm, and demanded money from the register. Hayes took cash from the register and an employee’s cell phone. Hayes then forced employees to lay on the ground and count while Hayes exited the store and fled in a vehicle.
After the restaurant robbery, MBPD located a vehicle matching the description of the get-away vehicle. The driver, Kennedy Boggs, failed to stop, and after a pursuit, both Boggs and Hayes were detained. MBPD found in the vehicle clothing matching the description of clothing worn by Hayes during the robberies. Hayes’ fingerprint was also located at the scene of the restaurant robbery. Boggs admitted that she had driven Hayes to the robberies and that during the vehicle pursuit, the firearm was thrown out of the car window. Officers later recovered the firearm.
The charges against Hayes and Boggs were the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Myrtle Beach Police Department, the Surfside Beach Police Department, the Horry County Police Department, the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office (NC), and the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office (NC). This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project CeaseFire initiative, which aggressively prosecutes firearm cases. Project CeaseFire is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a crime reduction strategy originally launched in 2001 that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Turning the tide of rising violent crime in America is a top priority for the Department of Justice, which has reinstituted PSN and directed all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to develop a district crime reduction strategy. Assistant United States Attorney Lauren Hummel of the Florence office prosecuted the case.
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