Brooklyn bandit ordered to serve 9 1 2 years in federal prison

over 6 years in NY Daily

Call this guy the Surf & Turf bandit.

Divine Johnson has been ordered to serve 9½ years in federal prison for sticking up a barbecue joint in downtown Brooklyn and then robbing a nearby fish warehouse days later.

According to court papers, Johnson, brandishing a gun, and an accomplice entered Hill Country restaurant around midnight on Sept. 14, 2015, as the manager was squaring up the day's receipts and was counting the cash.

The pair made off with about $9,000. During the robbery, prosecutors said Johnson, 30, touched the safe, leaving DNA evidence behind.

Days after the smoked meat money grab, Johnson hit up a commercial fish warehouse near the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

Washington once worked at the warehouse and entered under the pretense that he was looking for work.

He propped open the front door so two armed accomplices could enter while he chatted up the assistant manager, who took down Washington's information if work came up, prosecutors said.

While the robbery unfolded, prosecutors said Washington — nicknamed "Rhino" or "Ryno" — walked outside and told a security guard not to enter because there was nothing going on.

The guard smelled something fishy and went in.

The two accomplices escaped through the loading dock, making off with cash and checks. Johnson admitted to participating in the warehouse robbery so he could make $10,000.

In January, Washington pleaded guilty to the Hill Country armed robbery and another weapon charge. Though he didn't plead guilty to the fish job, under the terms of the deal struck with prosecutors, he said he helped the heist.

Part of Johnson’s federal prison sentence will run concurrently with the five-year prison term he’s now serving on an unrelated robbery case. Johnson's lawyer, Joyce David, called the federal sentence "reasonable ... compassionate and thoughtful."

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