Tallahassee Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Charges in Z Mart Armed Robbery
Laquinton Harris admitted to Hobbs Act robbery, brandishing a firearm, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in connection with a January 2026 robbery.
4 reports on this incident · first at Aug 20, 2026, 8:52 a.m. ET
On August 10, 2026, Laquinton Harris, 36, of Tallahassee, Florida, pleaded guilty in federal court to Hobbs Act Robbery, Brandishing a Firearm during a Crime of Violence, and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida. The plea was announced by U.S. Attorney John P. Heekin, who said the case exemplifies the investigative work of state and federal partners.
Court records show a masked gunman robbed the Z Mart convenience store at 4015 Fred George Road on January 30, 2026, discharging a firearm into the floor. Investigators found a spent .22 caliber shell casing and a bullet strike on the flooring. On April 2, 2026, ATF agents executed a search warrant at Harris's residence, recovering a .22 caliber rifle that ballistic testing matched to the casing, along with clothing matching the robber's, including ripped pants and gloves on which Harris's DNA was found.
Harris faces a mandatory minimum of 7 years in prison, which must be consecutive to his robbery sentence, and a maximum of life imprisonment, up to 5 years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $750,000. Sentencing is scheduled for October 19, 2026, at 2:00 pm before Chief U.S. District Judge Allen C. Winsor. The case is part of Operation Take Back America and Project Safe Neighborhoods.
Earlier reports
Aug 27, 2026, 6:06 a.m. ET
Man Sentenced to 40 Months for Robbing Leon County Z Mart
Clark Hall was sentenced to 40 months in federal prison on August 10, 2026, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida. The sentence stems from his guilty plea to possession of an unregistered firearm, as reported by clickondetroit.com.
The case originated from a masked gunman robbing the Z Mart convenience store at 4015 Fred George Road on January 30, 2026. During the robbery, the gunman discharged a firearm into the floor. Investigators from the Leon County Sheriff's Office found a spent .22 caliber shell casing, and a subsequent ATF search of the defendant's residence recovered a .22 caliber rifle that matched the casing, along with clothing and gloves worn by the robber. DNA on the items matched the defendant.
The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Leon County Sheriff's Office, with assistance from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney James A. McCain.
Aug 27, 2026, 5:59 a.m. ET
Man Sentenced to 40 Months for Robbing Leon County Z Mart
On August 10, 2026, Clark Hall was sentenced to 40 months in federal prison, according to ClickOnDetroit. The sentence was imposed in connection with his guilty plea to possession of an unregistered firearm, a charge stemming from the January 30, 2026, armed robbery of the Z Mart convenience store at 4015 Fred George Road in Tallahassee, Florida.
Court records show that a masked gunman robbed the store and discharged a firearm into the floor. During the investigation, Leon County Sheriff's Office deputies found a spent .22 caliber shell casing, and ATF agents later found a .22 caliber rifle and clothing matching the robber's attire at the defendant's residence. Ballistic testing matched the rifle to the casing, and DNA on the clothing linked the defendant to the crime.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Leon County Sheriff's Office, with assistance from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorney James A. McCain. The sentence was announced by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida.
Aug 20, 2026, 8:52 a.m. ETFirst report
Tallahassee Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Charges in Z Mart Armed Robbery
According to official records released by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida, 36-year-old Laquinton Harris of Tallahassee, Florida, pleaded guilty on August 10, 2026, to Hobbs Act Robbery, Brandishing a Firearm during a Crime of Violence, and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. The guilty plea was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
Official records detail that a masked gunman robbed the Z Mart convenience store at 4015 Fred George Road on January 30, 2026, discharging a firearm into the floor. Leon County Sheriff's Office deputies found an apparent bullet strike on wooden flooring and a spent .22 caliber shell casing. On April 2, 2026, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives executed a federal search warrant at Harris's residence, recovering a .22 caliber rifle that ballistics matched to the casing, as well as distinctive ripped pants and gloves matching the robber's attire that contained Harris's DNA.
"This case exemplifies the outstanding investigative work performed by our state and federal law enforcement partners, who swiftly identified and caught this defendant despite his efforts to conceal his identity during his violent crime," U.S. Attorney Heekin said. "This successful prosecution delivers a clear message: the safety of our community is not negotiable, and my office will aggressively prosecute these cases to keep violent offenders, like this defendant, off our streets and behind bars where they belong."
The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Leon County Sheriff's Office, with assistance from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney James A. McCain. Sentencing is scheduled for October 19, 2026, at 2:00 pm in the United States Courthouse in Tallahassee before Chief United States District Judge Allen C. Winsor. Harris faces a mandatory minimum of 7 years in prison consecutive to his robbery sentence, up to life imprisonment, up to 5 years of supervised release, and up to a $750,000 fine.
Was this report accurate and useful?
Sources
Revision history
- Version 127 Aug 2026, 10:06current
First published.
- Version 120 Aug 2026, 12:52current
First published.
- Version 127 Aug 2026, 10:10current
First published.
- Version 127 Aug 2026, 09:59current
First published.
How we work
This site models an investigative reporter rather than a wire desk. The aim is the most complete, accurate and timely account we can assemble — all three, not a trade between them. Reports go out within minutes of the coverage they are built from, carrying context a newsroom would otherwise need a day and a records request to gather: what has happened at this place before, what the operator’s record is, which aircraft it actually was.
Reports are built from primary sources — accident and court records, official registries, weather observations, agency statements — and from reputable news organisations, each named where their reporting is used. Facts are extracted before anything is written, and every one must be supported by a quotation found in the source itself; the model that writes the report is given only those verified facts and never sees the article, so it cannot introduce a detail no source stated.
Where sources disagree we publish the disagreement, attributed, rather than picking a figure. Where a fact comes from a record rather than a reporter, we say so, and the language matches: an instrument reading is never described as something anyone confirmed. Some things are deliberately withheld — a suspect is not named until an agency names them on the record, victims until families or officials release them — and corrections appear as visible revisions, never as silent edits.
None of that makes a report true. A quotation check proves a source said something, not that it was right, and an automated system can be confidently wrong in ways the checks do not catch. If something here is wrong, the feedback above is how it gets found. The full methodology, including what we refuse to publish.