SARASOTA COUNTY — Carmelo Rivera Jr., the get-
away driver in the March 23
Dollar General robbery, refused to accept a 10-year plea deal. Instead, a jury found him guilty and a judge recently sentenced him to 13 years in prison.

Authorities say Rivera, 37, was waiting inside a car with his girlfriend, Jilleka Gibson, a block away from the Dollar General store in North Port. The pair plotted with Jovan Cummings, 25, and Nichole Eaton, 22, to rob the store at gunpoint.