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Sentencing originally scheduled today in Raleigh for a Roanoke Rapids man charged in area armed robberies has been moved to the March 22 term of court, according to federal records.

The scheduling change was the result of a conflict the federal public defender representing Joshua Jermaine Durante had in which he was scheduled for a video conference with another judge.

District Judge James C. Dever III approved the motion to continue and will preside over the sentencing in March.

In October Durante pleaded guilty to brandishing a firearm in a crime of violence, armed robbery and discharging a firearm in an act of violence.

At the time the latest documents were filed in the case, Durante was being held in the Edgecombe County Jail in the custody of the United States Marshals Service.

The counts he pleaded guilty to reflect robberies committed in Weldon and Roanoke Rapids in September of 2018.

He robbed the Weldon Family Dollar on September 17 of that year and Presto in Roanoke Rapids on September 26 of that year.

An undisclosed amount of money was taken in the Weldon heist, police said at the time.

During the Presto robbery one of the suspects jumped the counter while the other suspect ran to the back and went behind the counter.

The suspects demanded the clerks open the safe at which time the clerks advised they did not have access.

One of the suspects struck the employee in the head with a handgun. The suspects proceeded to take money and cigarettes.  

When the suspects were exiting the store, one returned back to the counter and shot the employee who had initially been struck in the head with the weapon.

A second person charged in the heists — Temon Seward — was prosecuted through the state system and was sentenced on July 29. He was released on December 9. His parole term expires on December 9 of this year.

He was sentenced on a consolidated commitment which was combined with an October 2, 2018 armed robbery count.