Angie Thompson/Senior Reporter
CNHI
TIFTON —
A Tift County jury has found a man guilty of the December armed robbery of the Dixie Food Store and sentenced him to serve 24 years in prison. Also, a young Tifton woman pleaded guilty to the stabbing death of her brother and is awaiting sentencing.
A jury was chosen Aug. 23 to hear the case of Keith Marcus Carridine, 22, 107 Ermine Ave. Carridine was charged with the Dec. 3 armed robbery of the Dixie Food Store on South Main Street. After hearing the evidence, the jury deliberated for approximately 25 minutes Aug. 25 before returning with the guilty verdict. On Aug. 26, Tift Superior Court Judge Melanie Cross sentenced Carridine to serve 24 years in a state prison.
Employees of the Dixie Food Store reported Dec. 3 that two black males armed with guns entered the store and stole cash. Eddie Floyd III, who was 21 at the time of his arrest, is also charged with armed robbery in the case. A grand jury has indicted him on two counts of armed robbery. His case has yet to go to trial.
Also in Tift Superior Court last week, Adrianna Denise Pierce, who was 19 at the time of her arrest in May 2009, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the stabbing death of her 17-year-old brother, Joel Hendley. Cross is scheduled to sentence Pierce on Sept. 7.
According to an article that ran in The Tifton Gazette following the incident, Joel Henley was stabbed twice in the chest following an argument with his sister, Adrianna Pierce. The incident occurred at 2 p.m. Thursday at the siblings’ home on South Park Avenue.
Police recovered the kitchen knife they believe was used in the fatal stabbing. According to reports, one of Henley’s wounds was superficial while the other penetrated Henley’s chest and apparently punctured the atrium of Henley’s heart. He was rushed to Tift Regional Medical Center where he died during surgery.
To contact senior reporter Angie Thompson, call 382-4321.
