Two sentenced after 2022 fast-food robberies in Bibb County

The district attorney’s office said the group of teens targeted seven fast-food establishments in 2022.

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Two people were sentenced after pleading guilty to a 2022 string of armed robberies targeting fast-food restaurants in Bibb County, according to the Macon Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office.

According to the news release from the DA’s office, Keion Freeman Jr. and Derrick Berry Jr. each pleaded guilty to armed robbery (robbery by intimidation) and aggravated assault, admitting their roles as getaway drivers who made the crimes possible. Freeman was 17 years old, and Berry was 15 years old when the crimes happened. (Note: The Bibb County Sheriff’s Office has now identified the defendant as Derrick Berry III.)

The district attorney’s office said the group of teens targeted seven fast-food establishments in 2022.

During each incident, an armed co-defendant entered the business, threatened employees with a firearm and demanded money. Freeman and Berry waited nearby in vehicles, ready to help the gunman evade law enforcement.

Berry also admitted to serving as a lookout at a Krystal restaurant while co-defendant Shavawn Coleman, who was 16 years old at the time of the incidents, carried out a robbery inside.

The district attorney’s office said while Freeman and Berry did not hold the gun during the crimes, they were essential to every robbery. The news release added that Freeman and Berry drove the gunman to the scene, waited and helped him escape, which under Georgia law made them just as accountable.

At sentencing, the court weighed the nature of the crimes, the defendants’ ages at the time of the offenses and their roles in enabling the robberies.

Freeman received a sentence of 20 years with 10 to serve in prison. Berry received 20 years with five to serve in prison. The gunman, who entered a guilty plea earlier in the case, was previously sentenced to life in prison.

Macon Judicial Circuit District Attorney Anita Howard released the following statement:

“You don’t have to pull the trigger to bear responsibility for what happens. These defendants chose to be part of this, and the system held them accountable for that choice.”