Georgia man, Ghana native sentenced for spree of armed robberies at banks and stores

A Georgia man and a co-defendant from Africa have been sentenced to prison for committing a string of armed robberies in the Atlanta area.

Kujo Duako, 35, of Ghana was sentenced Wednesday to 16 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release.

Sammetrius Brooks, 33, of Atlanta, had been sentenced previously to 11 years and nine months behind bars, also with three years of supervised release after completing his prison term.

According to Ryan Buchanan, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, the two were involved in a crime spree on Oct. 29 and Oct. 30, 2018, beginning with the botched robbery of a CVS store in the city of South Fulton.

During the robbery, Duako pointed a semi-automatic handgun at an employee and ordered her to walk to the cash register. Rather than comply, the clerk fled to the rear of the store and set off a fire alarm, thwarting the robbery.

Later that day, Duako robbed a Dollar General store in South Fulton, stealing both cash and personal property from an employee on duty.

On the following day, Brooks joined as Duako’s getaway driver, and the two robbed five businesses in South Fulton, Riverdale, College Park, and Fairburn, including a restaurant and bank.

Less than two hours after the bank robbery, law enforcement officers recovered more than $9,000 in cash in Duako’s possession as well as several cellphones stolen from a Sprint store.

“Duako and Brooks terrorized innocent victims and jeopardized their lives during this violent crime spree,” Buchanan said Thursday. “The men’s arrest and prosecution are an example of the excellent coordination that the FBI and our district’s local law enforcement partners routinely leverage to remove dangerous criminals from our communities.”

The case was part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and gun violence. In this instance, the Justice Department worked with the FBI, Clayton County Police Department, Clayton County Sheriff’s Office, South Fulton Police Department, and Riverdale Police Department.