By Kelsey Durham
A North Carolina man was sentenced last week to serve 110 years in prison for a six-month-long crime spree in 2010 that included the armed robberies of several Queens fast-food restaurants and the attempted murder of a cab driver, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown announced last week.
The DA’s office said Shawn Peace, 26, of Charlotte, N.C., was sentenced May 22 after being convicted in February of a series of crimes dating back to July 2010.
Peace was found guilty of robbing five fast-food joints spanning Glen Oaks to Jamaica from July to November, including the Aug. 19, 2010, robbery of a Popeye’s Fried Chicken, at 245-01 Francis Lewis Blvd., during which Peace shot a store employee in the hand when the worker tried to apprehend him, the DA’s office said.
In addition to robbery, assault and criminal possession of a weapon charges, Peace was also convicted of second-degree attempted murder in the shooting of a livery cab driver Dec. 3, 2010.
The DA’s office said a driver from Big D’s Royal Cab Service in Jamaica picked up Peace around 8:50 a.m. after he walked into the cab company’s office and asked to be driven to a dead-end on 122nd Street in South Ozone Park.
After the cab arrived at the destination, a struggle broke out between the two men and Peace shot the driver four times before fleeing the scene, according to the DA’s office.
Police responded to a 911 call shortly after the shooting and found the cab driver slumped in the driver’s seat with gunshot wounds to the neck, right hand and one in each leg.
“Having committed a series of violent felonies during a string of armed robberies, the defendant has proven himself to be a menace to society,” Brown said. “With today’s sentence, the public can rest assured that the defendant will no longer be a threat as he will be spending the rest of his life behind bars.”
Peace had been held without bail since he was arrested in January 2011.
Reach reporter Kelsey Durham at 718-260-4573 or by e-mail at kdurham@cnglocal.com.
