A man was sentenced for being the getaway driver in a pair of armed robberies in Camden in 2011, Camden County Prosecutor’s Office announced today.
Superior Court Judge John T. Kelley sentenced Rumeal Bates, 24, to a 26 year term of incarceration in a hearing Friday.
Bates must serve 19 years of that sentence before he is eligible for parole.
Bates was found guilty in May of two counts of 1st degree armed robbery, eluding, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon.
Assistant Prosecutor Kevin Moran presented evidence during the trial that Bates served as getaway driver in a 2005 Mitsubishi Endeavor for two other men, Shawn Hawkins and Randolph Demby, when they robbed people at gunpoint on street corners at 8th and York streets and 4th and Walnut streets on October 29, 2011.
Hawkins, 29, of Lindenwold, pleaded guilty to armed robbery and Demby, 24, also of Lindenwold, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery.
Bates is also charged with murder in the July 14, 2012 shooting death of Khalil Cotton, a Camden 23-year-old shot on Mount Ephraim Avenue.
He is awaiting trial in that case.