South Bend, Indiana Man Sentenced To 43 Years In Prison

For Hobbs Act Robbery, Felon on Possession of a Firearm, and Brandishing a Firearm during and in Relation to a Crime of Violence

SOUTH BEND - Donyea Fowler, age 34, of South Bend, Indiana was sentenced before United States District Court Judge Jon E. DeGuilio for six counts of Hobbs Act robbery, one count of felon in possession of a firearm, and six counts of brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

Mr. Fowler was sentenced to 516 months in prison, 2 years of supervised release and ordered to pay $7,253.19 in restitution.   

According to documents in this case, between December 2017 and February 2018, Mr. Fowler robbed six South Bend area businesses at gun point. Mr Fowler was connected to these robberies, in part, because he committed the robberies while wearing the same clothing:  maroon sweat pants, a hooded sweatshirt, a mask, gloves, and sneakers. Several times he used a blue satchel to carry the loot. Mr. Fowler repeatedly stole cash, change, lottery tickets, liquor, and tobacco products. When Mr. Fowler was arrested, police found the blue satchel, a gray glove, and the loaded chrome-colored handgun in the trunk of the car in which Mr. Fowler was a passenger. Police also found a picture of stolen items from the robbery that occurred in January of 2018 on Mr. Fowler’s cell phone. Mr. Fowler has four prior felony convictions. 

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of the South Bend Police Department.  The case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joel Gabrielse.