MOBILE, Ala. – A 39-year-old man has been sentenced to 27 years in federal prison for the armed robbery of a Baldwin County convenience store where authorities say he pointed a handgun with an extended magazine at a clerk and demanded money.
Ira Cornell Bodiford Jr., 39, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Terry F. Moorer to 324 months in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama.
The robbery occurred on Dec. 19, 2023, at a convenience store in Magnolia Springs.
According to court documents, Baldwin County deputies responded after witnesses reported that a disguised man entered the store and approached the clerk. The robber allegedly pointed a semi-automatic handgun equipped with an extended magazine at the employee and demanded money.
Investigators reviewed surveillance footage from the store and identified the vehicle used by the robber.
Authorities traced the vehicle to a location in Foley, where deputies located Bodiford. Investigators also recovered the vehicle, stolen cash and the firearm used during the robbery, according to federal prosecutors.
DNA From Gloves Helped Link Bodiford to Robbery
Investigators retraced the route taken by the suspect’s vehicle and discovered blue latex gloves along the roadside.
Surveillance footage from the convenience store showed the robber wearing blue latex gloves during the crime, prosecutors said.
The gloves were submitted for forensic testing, and DNA recovered from them was matched to Bodiford.
Federal prosecutors said Bodiford had several previous felony convictions, including Second-Degree Robbery, Third-Degree Burglary and Domestic Violence Strangulation.
In addition to the 324-month prison sentence, Bodiford was ordered to serve five years of supervised release following his release from federal custody.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys George May and Tandice H. Blackwood prosecuted the case.