Pensacola Man Convicted in 14 Armed Robberies of Gas Stations and Convenience Stores
A federal jury convicted Deshawn Donson, 23, after store clerks testified. Deputies caught him after a May 2025 robbery and a chase at over 100 mph.
A Pensacola man who robbed gas station and convenience store clerks at gunpoint over several years has been convicted by a federal jury in 14 armed robberies in Escambia County, Florida.
Deshawn I. Donson, 23, faces up to life in prison when he is sentenced in January 2027, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida said when it announced the verdict on Oct. 20, 2026. The trial was held in federal court in Pensacola.
A hoodie, a mask and a pistol
In 14 separate robberies between 2022 and 2025, Donson wore a hooded sweatshirt and a mask to hide his identity, walked into the stores with a semiautomatic pistol, pointed it at the clerks and demanded money, prosecutors said.
All of the victims testified at trial about being robbed at gunpoint while they tried to empty the cash register, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Investigators identified Donson through electronic geolocation information that tied him to several of the robberies, prosecutors said. Donson is a convicted felon who had served time in state prison, so he was barred from having the gun he used.
The last robbery and the chase
Law enforcement caught Donson as he fled his final robbery on May 18, 2025, which led to a chase at more than 100 mph through Escambia County, prosecutors said. The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, with help from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, arrested him after the chase and seized evidence from his vehicle.
WKRG reported at the time that the robbery happened around 11 p.m. that Sunday at the Raceway on Airport Boulevard. The chase ended in the West Florida Hospital parking lot when a deputy rammed the side of his vehicle, and deputies said they found a gun and a bag full of cash inside, the station reported.
“We were aware of Donson and were conducting surveillance, and we were keeping track of where Donson was coming and going,” Sheriff Chip Simmons said at the time, WKRG reported.
From 18 robberies to 14
When prosecutors announced the federal indictment in June 2025, they said it charged Donson in connection with 18 armed robberies between 2022 and 2025, with counts of interference with commerce by threats or violence, brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The conviction announcement refers to 14 robberies and does not explain the difference.
“No one should have to wonder whether they will make it home safely at the end of their shift,” Simmons said in the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s announcement of the verdict.
The ATF, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, the Pensacola Police Department and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David L. Goldberg and Thomas Geeker prosecuted it.
