Press Release

Anchorage Pair Sentenced for 2015 Robbery Spree

April 29, 2015

22 year old Robert Potts and 20 year old Johnny DeGrate III were sentenced this week for a string of Anchorage robberies the pair committed in early 2015. An Anchorage jury found both Potts and Degrate guilty in December 2015 of three armed robberies that took place in February, 2015. The pair robbed women at gunpoint in two separate incidents in the Dimond Mall parking lot, and a third woman in a Wal-Mart parking lot. All three incidents took place during the day.

The jury also found DeGrate guilty of a late night January 2015 armed robbery of a pizza delivery driver. The jury acquitted Potts of that charge. Evidence at trial demonstrated that the pair was eventually caught, in part, because of the unique getaway car that they used in the shopping center robberies – a purple PT Cruiser owned by Potts.

Superior Court Judge Kevin Saxby sentenced Potts to nine years in prison, suspended an additional nine years of prison time, and ordered that Potts to be supervised on felony probation for 10 years upon his release.

Judge Saxby sentenced DeGrate to 11 ½ years in prison, suspended an additional eight years of prison, and ordered that DeGrate to be supervised on felony probation for 10 years upon release.

Judge Saxby noted that DeGrate was identified as the gunman in each of the robberies, and that he had been convicted of the additional January2015 robbery of the pizza delivery driver. At sentencing for DeGrate, Judge Saxby indicated his belief in the pizza delivery driver’s testimony at trial that he would be killed that night. Neither defendant had prior felony convictions.

CONTACT: Assistant District Attorney Jason Gist @ (907) 269-6300 or jason.gist@alaska.gov at the Anchorage District Attorney’s Office.

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Department Media Contacts: Communications Director Patty Sullivan at patty.sullivan@alaska.gov or (907) 269-6368. Information Officer Sam Curtis at sam.curtis@alaska.gov or (907) 269-6269.