Memphis Man Convicted of Several Armed Robberies and Conspiracy to Commit Four Additional

Memphis, TN – After a six-day jury trial, Randy Readus, 36, has been convicted of conspiracy to commit robbery, two counts of aiding and abetting robbery, one count of aiding and abetting attempted robbery, and one count of aiding and abetting the use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. United States Attorney Kevin G. Ritz announced the guilty verdict today.

According to the information presented in court, between December 2020 and January 2021, Randy Readus along with co-defendant Julius Black committed business robberies in Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee. On the morning of Christmas Eve, December 24, 2020, Readus drove Black from Memphis to Marion, Arkansas, in a Black Escalade. Black entered Walmart, robbed the Money Center at gunpoint taking a large amount of cash, and fled to where Readus was waiting in the Escalade.

Readus and Black similarly robbed the following businesses:

• December 26, 2020

Walmart on Industrial Park Drive, Trumann, Arkansas

• January 6, 2021

Walmart on Mackie Drive, Holly Springs, Mississippi

• January 8, 2021

Kroger on Highway 64, Memphis, Tennessee

• December 31, 2021

Kroger on Poplar Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee

Readus drove Black to the Kroger, where Black jumped the customer service desk, forced his way into the finance room and forcibly took money.

• January 8, 2021

Kroger on Highway 70, Arlington, Tennessee – attempted to rob the Kroger but were unsuccessful.

• January 12, 2021

Walmart, New Albany, Mississippi –

FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force apprehended Readus and Black as they fled. While attempting to flee the scene in the Escalade, officers disabled the vehicle.

Julius Black pled guilty on April 5, 2022. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 7, 2023.

Sentencing for Readus is set for June 13, 2023, before United States District Judge John T. Fowlkes, Jr.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force.

United States Attorney Kevin Ritz thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Karen Hartridge and Greg Wagner, who prosecuted this case, as well as law enforcement partners who investigated the case.

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For more information, please contact Public Information Officer Cherri Green at (901) 544-4231 or [email protected]. Follow @WDTNNews on Twitter for office news and updates.