Eugene Campbell IV, a 35-year-old resident of Jacksonville, has pleaded guilty to charges of Hobbs Act robbery and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. The charges stem from two separate robberies at pizza restaurants in Jacksonville.
According to the plea agreement, on August 4, 2025, Campbell entered a pizza restaurant in Jacksonville armed with a sawed-off rifle. He fired the weapon into the ceiling and demanded money from employees before fleeing with about $500. The following day, he targeted another pizza restaurant in the city, discharged his firearm into the wall, demanded cash at gunpoint, and escaped with approximately $700.
Ballistics analysis linked shell casings found at both crime scenes to the same firearm. Investigators also determined that this weapon had been used in an earlier incident in St. Johns County. Law enforcement connected Campbell to the robberies through interviews with his associates and by reviewing surveillance footage from both victims and nearby businesses.
Campbell was arrested by officers from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office on August 6, 2025. After his arrest, he admitted to committing the robberies.
U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announced that Campbell faces a minimum sentence of 20 years and could receive up to two life terms plus an additional 20 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.
The investigation involved multiple agencies including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, and St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney David B. Mesrobian is prosecuting the case.
“This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime,” according to information provided by officials. “Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).”
