Brothers from Dinwiddie convicted of $112,000 armed robbery in Charles City

A pair of brothers involved in an armed robbery that resulted in more than $100,000 being stolen were convicted after a contested trial Friday in Charles City Circuit Court.

Jeremy Brandon Martin, 34, and Stephen Hunter Martin, 30, both of the 8200 block of Vaughan Road, North Dinwiddie, were each convicted on seven charges during the proceedings.

On Oct. 15, 2018, around 9 a.m., Betty Sweeney was operating her home-based business when two men entered into her dwelling.

“I came downstairs and the next thing I knew I had a bath towel over my head,” she testified. “I thought somebody was playing a joke on me.

“When I got the towel off, there was a gun against my waist, and I was forced to go up the stairs.”

Sweeney said she watched as her sister, Elizabeth Lane, sat on the couch and forced to stay there as the other robber, later identified as Tyron Allen, held a grilling fork to her neck.

“I was working and separating cards when someone told me that I had to go sit down,” Lane said. “I heard it again and when I turned around, I head a gun pointed at me.

“I watched as my sister went upstairs,” she continued. “When the other guy came back down, he dropped the money and I was shoved over to Don [Bulger].

“I told them to get the money and go and that we weren’t going to stop them,” Lane concluded.

Bulger took the stand, recounting the events of the incident.

“I went to go back and get something,” he said, noting how his usual routine was to leave the adjacent warehouse and go back home at 10 a.m. “That’s when I heard a scream.

“I was knocked over by a tall black guy,” Bulger continued. “I saw the other guy run down the stairs and drop the money.”

Bulger also said that is when he had a gun pointed at him as well before the two men made their escape. A call was made to 9-1-1 and authorities responded to the residence. Bulger also had security cameras in his home and upon reviewing them with authorities, he saw Allen enter into the house during the early morning hours and unlock a side door.

“Tyron use to work for me and do jobs for me,” the victim said. “I helped him go to welder’s school. I like helping young people.”

For 10 days, Allen eluded authorities before Detective Sgt. Scott Greene located the defendant at a hotel in Eastern Henrico. A chase ensued with Allen crashing his vehicle near Dorey Park and eluding the police for nearly five hours before being taken into custody. That night, Greene interviewed Allen, who confessed to the crime.

Allen elaborated on the entire situation and how the two brothers became involved during his testimony Friday morning.

“I met Jeremy as a cell mate in Riverside Jail,” Allen said as he began his testimony. “There, we discussed the robbery. We had a place and everything, and he told me to call him a few days later after we got out.”

Working for Bulger, Allen knew his former employer’s routine of going out in the early morning hours. Allen said he went into the house and unlocked the side door of a first-floor bedroom that was never used. From there, he exchanged text messages with Jeremy.

“I saw the car pull up in the yard and is when I saw his brother for the first time,” Allen said, speaking about meeting Jeremy’s brother, Stephen. “We went inside and discussed what we were going to do.”

That plan unfolded as according to Allen’s testimony, Stephen drove the trio to the empty business parking lot of The Design Shop and dropped off Allen and Jeremy. From there, Jeremy and Allen traversed through the woods to the residence.

“We entered through the side door that I unlocked earlier, and I saw that they were cooking breakfast,” Allen said. “I saw the sister [Lane] going through the boxes on the floor.”

From there, Allen’s story said that Jeremy went upstairs with Sweeney while he kept an eye on Lane. As Jeremy dropped the bag of money on the floor along with the gun, that is when Bulger entered and he pushed Bulger up against the stair railings. Allen picked up the gun and pointed it at Bulger before he and Jeremy exited the building.

A call was made to Stephen, who was in possession of his brother’s phone at the time, to be picked up at the Design Shop. The three men traveled to the Martins’ residence where they started to count the money, a haul of $112,000, and take pictures of it. As they were about to divide the currency, Jeremy’s father walked in and reminded him of a court hearing that morning. Jeremy and Allen traveled to their appearance, where officer Marcus Hall commented about noticing Jeremy and a tall, slender black man in court.

“After the case, I sat in the parking lot and saw Mr. [Jeremy] Martin and the guy he was with get into a car,” the officer testified.

Because Hall had just appeared in court with Jeremy on a driving suspended charge, he knew the defendant shouldn’t been driving an executed a traffic stop. During that traffic stop, the officer told Jeremy that he couldn’t drive his vehicle home due to his suspension, resulting in his father picking him up. Meanwhile, Allen was also taken back to the Martin’s residence as a passenger in the car as Stephen, who rode up to assist with the transport, drove Jeremy’s vehicle back home.

After a recap on how both of the brothers were arrested, forensic evidence on the location of Tyron’s and Jeremy’s phones on that day, and an argument by defense lawyers that challenged Allen’s credibility due to his criminal background, Judge B. Elliott Bondurant agreed that while Allen isn’t a “boy scout”, it was the additional testimony that made his verdict clear cut.

“If I had to rely solely on his [Allen’s] testimony, this case would be a lot tougher on the Commonwealth,” the judge said. “But I have testimony from the witnesses and the victims.

“The story has been told the same way,” Bondurant continued. “Allen stated to law enforcement and has given me a way to link his history with Mr. [Jeremy] Martin.”

Bondurant specifically rehashed Allen and Jeremy’s time in the pod, phone records, tracking on the phone, and the visual description of Allen during Jeremy’s visit to Dinwiddie’s Courthouse for the driving suspended case.

“Regarding Stephen Martin, there were two calls during the time frame of the robbery where both men were running through the woods,” Bondurant said. “If the two men were together at the same time, it makes no sense for them to call one another when they are right by each other.

“It’s clear to me that Jeremy’s phone was left with Stephen because Allen testified that he called him to pick them up,” the judge concluded.

Jeremy Martin was convicted on two charges each of use of a firearm in a felony (second offense) and robbery of a residence, and one charge each of armed burglary, robbery of a residence with a gun, and use of a firearm in a felony (first offense). Stephen Martin was found guilty on three counts of use of a firearm in a felony (second offense), two counts of robbery of a residence, and one count each of robbery of a residence with a gun and armed burglary.

Formal sentencing for the Martin brothers is scheduled for Feb. 21, 2020. Allen’s trial is scheduled for Nov. 22.