Juvenile receives plea deal in Bottoms Bridge robbery

Two suspects are shown at the Bottoms Bridge McDonalds in the early morning hours of Aug. 26. Priester was identified by Det. Joey McLaughlin as the masked individual in the background, while Cornelius Clayton Jr. is identified as the alleged suspect in the foreground.

New Kent Sheriff's Office photo

New Kent Circuit Court has accepted a plea deal involving a juvenile who participated in an armed robbery at the Bottoms Bridge McDonald’s.

Robert James Priester, 16, of the 2200 block of Kingsbrook Drive, Henrico, entered guilty pleas to one count each of armed robbery and use of a firearm during Mar. 10 court proceedings. Two charges of armed robbery were dropped. The plea deal will not become effective until the defendant testifies in federal court.

In a summary of evidence provided by Commonwealth’s Attorney Linwood Gregory, Priester, along with three other individuals, entered the McDonald’s restaurant shortly before 3 a.m. last Aug. 26. Video evidence showed two men in masks entering the building and robbing three employees who worked the night shift.

Detective Joey McLaughlin provided more insight of the events of that night through testimony and photographs.

“The video showed two individuals walking down the wood-line of Route 249 and entered through the door on that side,” said the detective. “Once inside, they crawled and stayed low to remain to avoid the camera.”

Further testimony depicted on how one of the robbers forced two employees to the back to open the safe while another forced a clerk at the counter to open registers. Through interviews, McLaughlin said Priester confessed that he was the culprit. The other alleged suspect is Cornelius Clayton Jr.

Priester also said he received instructions from Shatik Jackson, another suspect, through cell phone communication. Through further research, the detective received a warrant to recover cell phone records from the early morning robbery. In comparison to similar robberies in neighboring counties, two phone numbers were identical in all of the crimes. Those numbers were traced back to Priester’s phone, and the grandmother of London Shi-Anne Cotman, another suspect who allegedly drove the getaway car. After receiving that information, McLaughlin and other authorities began to monitor the suspects, ultimately leading to their arrest in Dinwiddie the morning they allegedly committed another burglary.

While formal sentencing isn’t scheduled until June 9, the plea agreement calls for Priester to serve three years in the juvenile justice center. According to Gregory, he is expecting the defendant to take plea deals in other jurisdictions as well and to serve an additional 12-18 years in prison after his term in the juvenile justice center. Priester is facing a total of 78 charges in the jurisdictions of Chesterfield, Petersburg, and Henrico.

Along with his sentence, Priester will testify against Clayton, Cotman, and Jackson during Apr. 23 federal proceedings. He must also pay restitution in the amount of $5,440 to McDonald’s and $375 to the three employees for compensation of items stolen.