A man who robbed a South Richmond coffee shop, nearly shot an employee and led police on a foot chase, will spend 13 years in prison.
Richmond Circuit Judge Theodore J. Markow sentenced Eddie James Edwards III today to 20 years for the robbery charge and suspended half of the sentence, plus three years for use of a firearm in a felony.
The robbery occurred about 11:30 a.m. on Oct. 9, 2008, at Crossroads Coffee and Ice Cream in the 2600 block of Forest Hill Avenue.
Elizabeth A. Hobbs, the prosecutor who handled the case, said that Edwards, 21, walked into the coffee shop wearing a black mask, gun drawn, and demanded money from three women behind the counter.
One woman refused, and Edwards fired a bullet that went through a bag of coffee and into the wall about a foot from her head. Edwards demanded money again, Hobbs said, and he pointed a gun at a customer and told a store owner, "Don't make me kill him."
Edwards fled with more than $400. Customers and police chased Edwards, and the suspect fired his gun into a house as an officer was scaling a fence in pursuit, Hobbs said.
Edwards pleaded guilty to the two charges Aug. 6.
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