A federal judge sentenced a Florence man to 2,298 months or 191 and a half years in prison for robbing convenience stores.

Malcolm Robert Lee Melvin, 21, of Florence was found guilty in a Florence federal court in December of one count of conspiracy, eight counts of armed robbery, and eight counts of using a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence.

United States District Judge R. Bryan Harwell sentenced Melvin on Monday.

Evidence shows between June 22nd and June 28th, 2010, Melvin and his co-defendants robbed eight convenience stores in Florence, Darlington, Calhoun, and Orangeburg Counties.

The businesses affected included a BP gas station, two Cruizers gas stations, and an Exxon station in Florence County; a Sav-way and Markette stores in Darlington County; a Lil Cricket store in Calhoun County; and a Lil Cricket in Orangeburg County.

Firearms used during the robberies included a 9mm pistol and a sawed off 12 gauge shotgun.

Melvin and his co-defendants were members of a Bloods street gang known as the Rolling 20's Red Scorpion Neighborhood Bloods, loosely based out of the Florence and Darlington County areas. Judge Harwell previously sentenced Timothy Eugene Ham, age 21, Reginald Gerard McClair, age 21, and Travis Darrell Haynes, age 21, each to 32 years imprisonment, and Jaquan Brooks, age 20, to 19 years imprisonment for similar charges.

Melvin faced a $250,000 fine and/or 20 years in prison for the conspiracy count and for each armed robbery count, 10 years for the first conviction and 25 years which was mandatory consecutive for the remaining seven counts.