Beaufort man sentenced to 12 years after pleading guilty to 2019 gas station robbery
A Beaufort man pleaded guilty and was sentenced Monday on charges stemming from a 2019 armed robbery at a Port Royal gas station. He still faces charges in an unrelated shooting while out on bond.
Jordan Burgess, 23, of Beaufort, had been charged with armed robbery and possession of a weapon in the commission of a violent crime, according to the public index. He was sentenced to 12 years on the robbery charge and five years on the weapons charge, according to a press release from the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office. These sentences will be served concurrently.
Burgess was arrested Nov. 14, 2019, after pointing a gun at a Citgo gas station clerk in Port Royal and demanding money from the register 10 months earlier, according to previous reporting from the Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette.
In January 2019, a man had entered the store around 10:30 p.m. wearing a face mask, the clerk told police the Port Royal Police Department in a report. He left with $177 in cash, the clerk’s cellphone and a cordless landline telephone, according to the police report.
The store’s security footage showed the man touching the cash register without gloves, police said in the report. A DNA swab taken from the register matched Burgess’ DNA, according to previous reporting.
Assistant Solicitor Jared Shedd, who prosecuted the case, said in the press release that there could be no other explanation for why Burgess’ DNA was on the cash register.
“The single-source DNA profile, combined with the fact that he never worked at this gas station, along with the surveillance video made it clear who was responsible for this crime,” Shedd said.
Police say, while out on bond, Burgess shot a man outside a home in the Polk Village neighborhood of Beaufort. Deputies responded to a shots fired call at a home on Centerview Drive around 2:40 p.m. March 4, according to an alert from the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office. The shooter left before deputies arrived, and the victim was rushed to Beaufort Memorial Hospital. Burgess was charged in June with attempted murder and possession of a weapon in the commission of a violent crime.
Burgess’ public defender, Colin Hamilton, could not immediately be reached for comment.
The attempted murder charges are pending, according to the public index. As of Tuesday morning, Burgess remained in custody at the Beaufort County Detention Center.
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The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette newspapers are making an effort to update stories we’ve published where criminal charges were filed. Criminal charges mean law enforcement had probable cause to arrest someone, but a court decides on a person’s guilt and conviction. If our newspaper has written about a crime where charges were brought, we want to use public records to show what happened in that case. If you think a crime story featuring you or someone you know needs updating, email Sofia Sanchez at ssanchez@islandpacket.com or newsroom@islandpacket.com.
