Man Who Robbed Asian-Owned Businesses, Shot 3 Women Gets 5 Life Sentences

Dravion Sanchez Ware was convicted in 2019 for a series of violent robberies in 2017 where he pistol-whipped his victims, injuring one man that required hospitalization, a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice said, according to Patch.

In addition to the assault, Ware also reportedly shot three women, one of whom was shot point-blank in the back while lying face down on the ground during a robbery, Fox Atlanta reported. All three women reportedly survived the attacks.

“Ware terrorized the victims of these robberies and nearly killed one woman,” Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine said in a statement. “The complete disregard for the lives of his victims was shocking, and he received an appropriate sentence. We hope this provides some peace to the victims by ensuring that Ware will never again terrorize the communities of our district.”

The 25-year-old man was convicted for conspiracy to commit robberies, five counts of robberies, and five counts of discharging or brandishing a firearm during the robberies. Ware is facing five concurrent life terms in prison, plus six concurrent 20-year terms.

His partner in the crime spree, Tabyron Rashad Smith, 26, was sentenced to 27 years in prison after pleading guilty in 2019. Both suspects are ordered to pay $135,951.81 in restitution.

“This sentence is a statement that anyone who carries out such evil and inflicts such trauma on innocent citizens has no right to be in our communities,” Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta, said. “The sentence will not erase the traumatic scars his crimes left behind, but hopefully his victims can rest easier knowing Ware will not traumatize them or anyone else for the rest of his life.”

Ware hit nine Asian-owned businesses in Atlanta, Doraville, Norcross, Duluth, Stone Mountain, and Roswell between Oct. 7 and Nov. 10, 2017.

The crime spree led to the creation of a multi-agency task force, including the FBI, the GBI, the Doraville PD, the Fulton County PD, the Gwinnett County PD, the Atlanta PD, the Roswell PD and the Sandy Springs PD.

“For over a month, these gang members targeted and terrorized the Asian business community,” GBI Director Vic Reynolds said Wednesday. “This sentence is evidence that this behavior will not be tolerated in the state of Georgia.”

Featured Image via Fox 5 Atlanta