Gainesville man receives 2 life sentences for multiple robberies

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A Gainesville man tied to multiple area robberies was found guilty on Friday by a jury and sentenced to two life sentences.

According to a State Attorney Eighth Judicial Circuit press release, a jury found James Clark, 25, guilty and Judge Bo Bayer sentenced the habitual offender to two concurrent life sentences in the Florida Department of Corrections.

James Clark
Alachua County Jail James Clark

On Dec. 14, 2020, the Gainesville Police Department (GPD) responded to a business robbery at the Dollar General located at 2400 SE Hawthorne. An investigation led GPD to Clark, who previously committed a petit theft at the same store wearing an identical mask worn during the robbery.

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GPD detectives identified eight additional robberies in the Gainesville area along with one robbery in Bradford County.

Clark was connected to nine robberies in Alachua County, one attempted robbery and the Bradford County robbery.

It took the jury only one hour following the three-day trial to return the guilty verdict. 

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Mike

It would be nice to read about the rest of this story. 2 concurrent life sentences for robbery seems to be extreme. Were there extenuating circumstances?