A Panama City man found guilty of robbing a Dollar General – and suspected in several similar robberies – has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of robbery.
Jaden Delvon Larry, 25, of Panama City, was given the maximum sentence by Circuit Court Judge Brantley Clark Thursday. The defendant was found guilty of Robbery, a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
Prosecutor Frank Sullivan said in addition to the Oct. 18, 2023, robbery of a Dollar General on 15th Street, the defendant was suspected in three other robberies that same year – two at the same store.
“This is certainly a case where the maximum sentence was appropriate,” Sullivan said. “The defendant was on probation for armed carjacking when he committed this crime, and when the other three robberies occurred. He has shown no intention or ability to follow the law, continued to put others in danger, and our streets are safer with him in prison.”
Sullivan said Panama City Police Department investigators had a string of similar robberies in 2023. The Oct. 18, 2023 robbery was the third in a series where a young suspect entered a stand-alone store on a weeknight, wore dark clothing, concealed his face, and fled on foot into the dark.
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Sullivan proved to jurors that it was Jaden Larry who walked into the 15th Street Dollar General on Oct. 18, 2023, and ordered an employee to open the safe. In surveillance video the defendant is seen wearing dark clothing and distinct black Nike “Slides,” with the word “Nike” and the Nike “Swoosh” in gold across the top. He is seen running into nearby woods.
After the robbery, Panama City police following that path found items involved in the robbery, including loose dollar bills and rolls of coins the defendant dropped. They also found black Nike Slides with the gold logos, as if they had fallen off when the suspect climbed a fence.
Police sent the Nike slides to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for DNA testing. Before the results came back, a fourth robbery occurred Nov. 6. FDLE’s testing found the DNA on the Nike Slides from the Oct. 18 robbery matched the defendant’s DNA. It was on file due to his previous conviction.
Investigators found the defendant did not own a vehicle but was twice stopped by police in 2022 driving a family member’s car. That car was recorded on a stationary license plate reader showing the vehicle about 200 yards west of the store minutes after the robbery.
Basford thanked Panama City police on the thoroughness of their investigation that led to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement identifying the defendant through a DNA match.
For more information, contact Mike Cazalas at mike.cazalas@sa14.fl.gov, or call 850-381-7454.