Oklahoma man arrested in Jefferson City pleads guilty in federal court

An Oklahoma man who was caught in Jefferson City pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to the armed robbery of a hotel in Columbia on May 31, 2017.

Darrell Black, 25, pleaded guilty to one count of robbery, one count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, and one count of possessing a stolen firearm.

Black admitted he had brandished a Springfield 9mm handgun when he robbed the Staybridge Suites Hotel on Keene Street in Columbia. Black entered the hotel at approximately 1:50 a.m., pointed his pistol at the clerk, jumped over the counter and demanded money. The clerk opened the desk drawer, and Black took approximately $200. Black told the clerk if she did not open the hotel safe, he would shoot her. The clerk told him only the manager had the key to open the safe. He got upset and told the clerk to put her hands behind her back. He disconnected the phone cord and unsuccessfully tried to tie the clerk's hands behind her back. Then he told the clerk to lie on the ground. When Black finished searching the hotel front desk area for items to steal, he told the clerk to face the wall and not move. Black left, and the clerk faced the wall for approximately 10-15 minutes, then called the police. The clerk's cellphone and purse were missing.

A Jefferson City police officer spotted Black later that day. He fled on foot but was apprehended by the officer. At the time of his arrest, Black was carrying a black bag that contained the handgun, marijuana, an ecstasy pill and a magazine with five rounds of 9mm ammunition. As the officer was handcuffing him, a woman ran up, grabbed the black bag and ran away. Officers apprehended the woman and retrieved the bag.

Black is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of life in federal prison without parole. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after completion of a pre-sentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Columbia Police Department and the Jefferson City Police Department.