CLEVELAND — The U.S. Department of Justice has issued a 14-count indictment against a Cleveland man in connection with 10 armed robberies committed across the area last winter.
Thirty-two-year-old Lawrence Sturdivant is accused of stealing money at gunpoint from a combined nine Walgreens, Family Dollar, and CVS stores in Cleveland during a three-week period from Dec. 5 to Dec. 26, 2021, along with a Walgreens in Shaker Heights. The charges against him are as follows:
- 10 counts of interference with commerce by robbery
- Three counts of using, carrying, or brandishing a firearm during an in relation to a crime of violence
- One count of being a felon in possession of ammunition
The last count is directly related to Sturdivant's prior 2014 guilty plea to aggravated robbery in Cuyahoga County, for which he served seven years in state prison. As he was a convicted felon and out on parole at the time of these latest alleged crimes, he was not legally allowed to own or have a gun.
Sturdivant's case will be prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam J. Jones of the Northern District of Ohio.