Five Brevard County men sentenced to 13 to 18 years in federal prison for armed robbery of Ybor City nightclub

Five Brevard County men have been sentenced to federal prison terms ranging from 13 years and 10 months to 18 years and 4 months for the armed robbery of a nightclub near Tampa's Ybor City in which a man was shot in the face with a rifle and lost an eye. U.S. District Judge John L. Badalamenti imposed the sentences, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida, which said the men drove across the state to carry out the February 2025 robbery.

The defendants are Courtenay Smith, Phillip Johnson, Sema-J De-Andre Brothers, Na'Quezz Mack and Derrick Worthington. Each will serve more than a decade behind bars, WTSP reported, citing the Justice Department.

The sentences

Smith, who prosecutors say helped plan the robbery but did not travel to Tampa, received the longest term. Johnson, the man accused of firing the rifle, received 15 years. The sentences, as announced by the U.S. Attorney's Office, break down as follows.

Smith is 36 and Johnson is 22, according to Patch, which reported the sentences from the federal release. Federal prison sentences carry no parole, so the men will serve most of their terms, minus limited credit for good conduct.

A robbery planned in Brevard County

According to federal prosecutors, Johnson, Brothers, Mack and Worthington traveled from Brevard County to Tampa in the early morning hours of Feb. 1, 2025. Smith did not make the trip, but prosecutors said he played an active role in planning and preparing the robbery and in supplying items used during it.

The group traveled in two vehicles and parked in the lot of a restaurant in Ybor City, according to the sentencing announcement as summarized in news coverage. Johnson, Brothers and Mack then went into the club, which Fox 13 identified in its 2025 coverage of the charges as Dreams Club near Ybor City. Prosecutors said the three wore all-black clothing and ski masks. Johnson carried a rifle and the other two carried handguns. Worthington stayed outside as a lookout.

Inside, the men demanded money. WTSP reported that they forced bartenders to hand over cash, purses and cellphones.

The shooting

During the robbery, Johnson raised his rifle and shot a man at the club in the face, prosecutors said. The bullet entered the left side of his face, shattered his nose and exited near his right eye. He was seriously injured and ultimately lost the eye.

Accounts differ on the victim's position at the club. The U.S. Attorney's Office described him as an employee when Johnson was first charged in March 2025, and the headline of its sentencing release again refers to an employee. WTSP's coverage of the sentencing described him as the club's owner, while Patch described him as its manager. Federal officials have not publicly identified him.

Cash split in Brevard, evidence destroyed

After the robbery, the men fled with the cash and drove back across the state to Smith's home in Brevard County, where they divided the money, according to WTSP.

Detectives with the Tampa Police Department and the FBI said the men then tried to destroy evidence of the crime. According to investigators, they threw cellphones off a bridge, burned their clothing and used bleach to clean the victim's blood from their vehicles.

The case was investigated by Tampa police and the FBI, with assistance from the Brevard County Sheriff's Office and the Cocoa Police Department.

From one charge to five defendants

Johnson was the first to be charged. In March 2025, about six weeks after the robbery, federal prosecutors filed a criminal complaint accusing him of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, Hobbs Act robbery and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. Johnson, then 21 and living in Cocoa, faced a minimum of 10 years and up to life in federal prison if convicted on all counts, the U.S. Attorney's Office said at the time.

The Hobbs Act is the federal law that makes it a crime to commit robbery that affects interstate commerce, which allows federal prosecutors to bring cases involving robberies of businesses. Firing a gun during a crime of violence carries a mandatory minimum of 10 years under federal law, a term that must be served on top of any sentence for the robbery itself.

The other four men were later brought into the federal case. All five were ultimately found guilty, according to WTSP. The coverage reviewed by The Florida Press did not specify which defendants pleaded guilty and which, if any, went to trial, or the specific counts of conviction for each man.

How the case unfolded

The case stretched across two counties more than 100 miles apart: the planning and the division of the money in Brevard County, and the robbery itself in Hillsborough County. The key dates, according to federal announcements and news coverage, are below.

The original complaint against Johnson was filed under then-Acting U.S. Attorney Sara C. Sweeney, according to the 2025 coverage. At that stage, prosecutors described only three people traveling to Tampa. The sentencing announcement later laid out a wider group of five, including the lookout who stayed outside and the Brevard County man who prosecutors said helped plan the robbery without making the trip.

What's next

With all five men sentenced, the criminal case in Tampa's federal court is largely complete, though defendants in federal cases generally may appeal their convictions or sentences within 14 days of judgment unless they waived that right in a plea agreement. The five will be assigned to Federal Bureau of Prisons facilities to serve their terms. The man who was shot, who prosecutors say lost his eye, has not been publicly identified.