A Cincinnati man who robbed a Marathon gas station on Montgomery Road at gunpoint was sentenced to nearly 36 years in federal prison.
U.S. District Judge Douglas R. Cole sentenced James Lockridge, 43, to 431 months on Tuesday, Oct. 13, for three armed robberies of Marathon gas stations in February 2024. The Montgomery Road holdup was one of three Lockridge committed in a 16-day span, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Ohio.
Lockridge robbed Marathon stations on Feb. 5, Feb. 10 and Feb. 21, 2024. The Montgomery Road robbery was Feb. 10. The other two took place on Gilbert Avenue.
In each robbery, Lockridge entered the store wearing a mask, fired the same 9mm handgun into the ceiling, then pointed it at clerks. During the second and third holdups, he also pointed the gun at customers and used force against people in his way, federal prosecutors said.
Police arrested Lockridge 11 minutes after the third robbery. Officers found the firearm in his waistband.
Investigators later recovered boots, gloves and other clothing linked to the robberies, along with a stolen cash register, in and around the space where Lockridge had been living. He had worn the same boots during each holdup and fled on foot toward a nearby apartment complex after the first and third robberies.
A federal jury convicted Lockridge on seven robbery and firearms charges after a weeklong trial in June.
Lockridge was on parole for a 2014 armed robbery when he committed the February 2024 crimes. In that earlier case, he entered a victim's car and pointed a gun at the victim before stealing the victim's belongings. As a previously convicted felon, he is prohibited from possessing firearms.
His criminal history also includes charges of breaking and entering, burglary, theft, criminal trespass, threatening others with guns and drug possession, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
U.S. Attorney Dominick S. Gerace II said Lockridge endangered lives and caused panic and terror among employees and customers during the three robberies. Gerace called Lockridge a violent offender and said the public is safer with the lengthy federal sentence.
The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) and the Cincinnati Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ashley N. Brucato and Danielle E. Margeaux prosecuted.
