The Mississippi man who pulled a gun inside a Dollar General store, robbing multiple shoppers and stealing from the store’s cash register will spend seven years and one day in federal prison.

Jalen Xavier Simmons, 19, of Jackson, was sentenced Friday by U.S. District Judge Carlton W. Reeves to serve 7 years and one day in federal prison for robbing a local Dollar General store in Jackson and brandishing a firearm during that crime of violence.

The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Special Agent in Charge Christopher Freeze with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Simmons was also sentenced to 4 years of supervised release and ordered to pay a $1,000.00 fine.

On April 6, 2018, Simmons entered the Dollar General on Briarwood Drive in Jackson carrying a stolen 9mm pistol loaded with 18 rounds of ammunition. He robbed multiple shoppers of their cash and demanded Dollar General employees open the cash register. Jackson Police officers soon arrived on the scene and Simmons was arrested.

Simmons was charged in a federal indictment on September 29, 2018, with one count of robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm during the crime of violence. He pled guilty without a plea agreement on December 17, 2018.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Jackson Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kimberly Purdie.