GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A Detroit-area man was sentenced to federal prison for a 2020 robbery of an Albion gardening supply store where a store clerk was attacked and tied up.
On Monday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Andrew Williams, 27, of Westland, was sentenced to more than nine years in federal prison. He pleaded guilty in August to conspiracy to commit robbery and brandishing a firearm during a violent crime.
Authorities say Williams and another man, Kyle Carson, armed with an illegal gun, robbed Albion Hydroponics on Feb. 10, 2020. They say Carson pistol-whipped the worker and the pair left the victim tied up in the bathroom. Driving a U-Haul van, they made off with cash and merchandise.
Authorities said Carson later admitted he helped Williams case the place before the robbery and that he tried to hide the U-Haul afterward.
The two were indicted on federal charges in March 2023. Carson, 28, of Jackson, pleaded guilty in September of last year to a federal conspiracy charge in the case. He was sentenced to five years in prison.