A 29-year-old Orlando man who committed five armed robberies has been sentenced and will be spending some time in prison.
U.S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton, Jr. sentenced Geoffrey Gaston, of Orlando, to seven years in federal prison for committing five armed robberies between September 12 and October 12, 2022. The court also ordered Gaston to forfeit the $1,323 stolen as well as the $517 found in his vehicle upon his arrest that were proceeds of the offenses. Gaston entered a guilty plea on November 16, 2023.
According to court documents, at 4:30am on September 12, 2022, Gaston, dressed in all-black and wearing gloves, entered a 7-Eleven store in Orlando and displayed what appeared to be a handgun. He demanded all the money in the cash drawer. Law enforcement later obtained evidence that Gaston had been searching the internet for “realistic toy gun” in the weeks leading up to this robbery and “.380,” “.22 pistol,” and “Saturday night special gun,” after this robbery.
On September 26, 2022, at approximately 4:20am, Gaston conducted another robbery at a 7-Eleven store in Altamonte Springs wearing the same outfit and again displaying what appeared to be a firearm and robbing the store of $73.
Gaston went on to perpetrate the same armed robbery at another 7-Eleven store that same morning at 4:50am in Oviedo, obtaining $300.
On October 5, 2022, at approximately 3:50am, Gaston robbed another 7-Eleven in Orlando, obtaining $100 after showing the cashier an apparent firearm.
On October 12, 2022, at approximately 4:45am, Gaston returned to the first 7-Eleven he had robbed a month earlier, obtaining $350 by showing the cashier his weapon and demanding that he empty the drawer.
Gaston was arrested later that week at the 7-Eleven where he worked.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Orlando Police Department, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, and the Altamonte Springs Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Dana E. Hill and Noah Dorman.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.
