Couple gets more than 7 years in prison for Knightdale, Wilson jewelry store robberies

A Rocky Mount couple was sentenced Thursday to more than seven years in federal prison for two jewelry store robberies in 2017, authorities said.

Posted 3:05 p.m. Mar 15, 2019 — Updated 3:05 p.m. Mar 15, 2019

RALEIGH, N.C. — A Rocky Mount couple was sentenced Thursday to more than seven years in federal prison for two jewelry store robberies in 2017, authorities said.

Jaquin Jamal Pratt, 20, and Nikita Shontel Taylor, 26, pleaded guilty to interference with interstate commerce. Pratt was given a 10-year sentence, while Taylor will serve 87 months.

The couple robbed Saslow’s Jewelry in Wilson on Nov. 27, 2017, and Swift’s Fine Jewelry in Knightdale on Dec. 8, 2017.

Knightdale police said the couple posed as customers, looking over merchandise for several minutes, before they pulled out a gun and ordered Swift's employees to the ground. A tearful employee told a 911 operator that a man and a woman held guns to the heads of employees at the store, at 210 Hinton Oaks Blvd., and forced them to lay on the floor.

A store employee snapped a photo of the getaway car and was able to tell police which way the robbers were headed, which helped police identify Pratt and Taylor as the suspects.

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