Miami Resident Sentenced to 13 Years in Prison for Robbing Miami Shores TD Bank Branch at Gunpoint and Discharging the Firearm During the Robbery

A Miami resident was sentenced today to a total of thirteen years in federal prison for robbing a Miami Shores TD Bank Branch at gunpoint and discharging the firearm during the course of the robbery.

Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) made the announcement.

Following a one-week jury trial, on September 21, 2018, Joudanorve Lafleur, 24, of Miami, Florida, was convicted of armed bank robbery, and brandishing and discharging a firearm in furtherance of the armed robbery.  U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez sentenced Lafleur to a total of 161 months in prison, to be followed by 5 years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution. 

According to the evidence presented at trial, at approximately 9:20 a.m. on April 20, 2018, Lafleur, wearing a black ski mask, black hoodie, and pants, robbed two bank tellers and one bank customer at gunpoint.  After demanding “all of the hundreds” from his victims repeatedly, Lafleur fired a bullet into the ceiling of the bank.  Then, he fled, with more than $2,000.

The FBI tracked Lafleur to his residence within an hour of the robbery, and after a search of Lafleur’s home, investigators recovered Lafleur’s disguise (mask and hoodie); the stolen money; and the firearm used in the robbery, among other items.  Evidence at trial also showed that Lafleur robbed one of his elderly neighbors, stealing his clothes in the minutes before law enforcement arrived, in an attempt to distance himself from the crime and change his appearance.  The evidence against Lafleur presented at trial included witness testimony, bank surveillance video, DNA expert testimony, cellular telephone analysis, and other evidence.  The jury found Lafleur guilty of all counts of the Indictment.

U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigative efforts of the FBI.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lisa H. Miller and Jessica K. Obenauf.