A former Amherst resident has been sentenced to eight years in prison and five years of parole supervision for his role in a 2024 botched robbery attempt in the city of Jamestown. The incident resulted in the shooting death of one of his accomplices and gunshot injuries sustained by two other accomplices.

Nix was convicted of first-degree attempted robbery masterminding the failed plan, Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt announced on Friday.

On March 18, 2024, Jamestown Police were dispatched to the 800 block of Prendergast Avenue for a report of multiple gunshots inside a residence. Responding officers found two males suffering from gunshot wounds, later identified as 53-year-old William Hernandez, who was hospitalized for his injuries, and 26-year-old Trevon Tripp, who was pronounced dead at the scene. Police later located a third intended robber, Juan Rivera Torres, who also sustained gunshot wounds, and identified Nix as the individual who planned the robbery and recruited the others to take part.

On Dec. 8, Torres was sentenced to 4 1/2 years of state imprisonment followed by five years of parole supervision, and Hernandez was sentenced to four years of state imprisonment followed by five years of parole supervision, for their respective roles in the botched robbery. They had each also been convicted of first-degree robbery, but were determined to be minor bad actors who may have shot one another and fatally shot Mr. Tripp by accident.

“Evan Nix is the last person to be sentenced in connection with this case,” said Jamestown Police Sgt. Daniel Overend. “Nix’s sentence brings closure to the legal proceedings stemming from the robbery gone wrong, which resulted in one death and multiple injuries. The Jamestown Police Department officers and detectives worked extensively to investigate this case and to bring Nix and his co-conspirators to justice after he had left the state to avoid answering for his involvement in this robbery attempt. Nix’s decisions that day forever changed the life of Trevon Tripp’s family and now Nix will spend the next 8 years of his life in prison because of it. The Jamestown Police Department would like to thank the Chautauqua County District Attorney’s Office, Chautauqua County Forensic Investigation Team, Ellicott Police Department, FBI, US Marshals, ATF Ohio and the Erie Crime Analysis Center for their assistance with this investigation.”

According to Jamestown Police, the two intended victims traveled from Rochester to Jamestown on March 18, 2024, for the purpose of selling cannabis to an individual with whom they corresponded only online. Unbeknownst to the two victims, they were actually communicating with Nix who planned on robbing them with the aid of Tripp, Hernandez and Rivera Torres.

After luring the two intended victims inside the Prendergast residence, the four would-be robbers attempted to steal cash and cannabis at gunpoint, with two of them brandishing handguns, but a struggle instead followed resulting in the fatal gunfight.

Both Torres and Nix were able to escape the residence while Tripp and Hernandez remained behind due to the severity of their injuries.

Torres was later apprehended by Jamestown Police when he sought medical treatment for a gunshot wound to his leg. He, along with the two intended victims, cooperated with the investigation, and their statements were corroborated by forensic evidence left at the scene. The District Attorney’s Office determined that the intended victims’ use of force was justified under the law and no charges will be brought against them for the death of Trevon Tripp or gunshot injuries sustained by his accomplices.