Bank robber sentenced to 14 years in prison

ATLANTA - Rondell Muwwakkil has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for robbing five metro-Atlanta banks in 2016.  He passed notes to tellers at banks inside of stores demanding they give him small bills in each robbery.

“Muwwakkil never cared about the terror he caused when robbing these banks,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “Regardless of whether a robber uses a weapon or a simple note to rob a bank, it makes no difference.  As we continue to employ our Project Safe Neighborhood initiative, we will continue to prosecute anyone who drives violent crimes in the district.”

“The FBI would like to thank the public who helped us locate and arrest this suspect,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “As frightening as the five robberies were to the victims in the banks, there is little doubt there would have been more robberies, and more victims, had it not been for a concerned citizen’s tip.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: Rondell Muwwakkil committed five bank robberies in August 2016. He committed each of the robberies by passing the bank teller a note demanding money. The robberies were scattered throughout the metro-Atlanta area.

On August 12, 2016, Muwwakkil took a taxi to the Best Bank located inside a Kroger in Decatur, Georgia, and then he went inside and robbed it. On August 17, 2016, He again took a different taxi to the same Best Bank inside of Kroger in Decatur, Georgia, then proceeded inside the store and robbed the bank.  On August 22, 2016, he robbed a Best Bank inside of a Kroger in Ellenwood, Georgia, and on August 27, 2016, he robbed the Woodforest National Bank inside a Walmart in Duluth, Georgia. Finally, on August 30, 2016, he robbed the Woodforest National Bank inside the Walmart in Newnan, Georgia.

In each robbery, Muwwakkil waited in line as if he were a regular customer. When he reached the teller, he passed them a note that told them to give him all loose bills in $100s, $50s, $20s, and $10s. Muwwakkil then took the money and fled the robbery scene.  Muwwakkil was identified as the robber by a tip called in to the FBI. His fingerprints were also found on the demand note given to the bank teller in the August 22 bank robbery.

Rondell Muwwakkil, 48, of Atlanta, Georgia, has been sentenced to 14 years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $7,961.00 in restitution.  Muwwakkil was convicted of the August 22 and 27, 2016 robberies on January 5, 2018, after he pleaded guilty to those robberies.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). In keeping with the Attorney General’s mission to reduce violent crime, the Northern District of Georgia’s PSN program focuses on prosecuting those individuals who most significantly drive violence in our communities, and supports and fosters partnerships between law enforcement and schools, the faith community, and local community leaders to prevent and deter future criminal conduct.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary L. Webb prosecuted the case.