Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander
today sentenced Benjamin Fowlkes, age 35, of Baltimore, Maryland, to 150 months
in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for the armed
robbery of a convenience store and the armed robbery of a bank. Judge Hollander also ordered Fowlkes to pay
restitution of $13, 294.92.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the
District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone
of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and
Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department.
According to his plea agreement, on November 26, 2018,
shortly before 11 p.m., Fowlkes robbed a convenience store located in the 2700
block of West Franklin Street in Baltimore, displaying what appeared to be a
silver semiautomatic handgun, but was in fact an air gun. Fowlkes ordered the store employees to open
the cash register and give him the cash, which they did. Fowlkes then fled.
The next day, Fowlkes robbed a bank located in the 3600
block of Boston Street in Baltimore. Shortly after the bank opened, Fowlkes
entered the bank and asked to open an account.
Fowlkes was directed to a customer service employee in another part of
the bank. Fowlkes pulled a yellow folder
from a white mesh laundry bag, asked for a pen, and then wrote a note demanding
money, which he passed to the employee. The employee advised that there was no
money in the customer service area.
Fowlkes took the note back, stated that he had a gun, and drew what
appeared to be a silver semiautomatic handgun—but that was in fact an air
gun—from the white mesh laundry bag.
Fowlkes told the employee, who was on crutches, to get up slowly. The victim employee complied and walked to
the teller area of the bank, where two other employees were working, to get the
money Fowlkes demanded. Fowlkes followed
her there. While in the teller area,
Fowlkes again displayed the silver air gun and demanded money, and also
demanded one of the tellers’ car keys.
One employee handed over the keys to his car—a Hyundai Sonata—and
another employee handed Fowlkes the cash from the teller drawers, which Fowlkes
placed in the white mesh laundry bag.
Fowlkes then escaped in the stolen Hyundai Sonata.
Fowlkes was arrested on November 29, 2018, after a Baltimore
Police Officer in the Southwestern District determined that the tags on a
Hyundai Sonata driven by Fowlkes had been stolen. When Fowlkes was pulled over, he was wearing
the same zip-up hoodie worn during the robberies, and he had $2,021 in cash on him,
which was stolen from the bank. A subsequent
search warrant executed at his residence resulted in law enforcement recovering
the white mesh laundry bag, yellow folder, and demand note used at the bank
robbery, mail addressed to the owner of the Hyundai Sonata, which Fowlkes had
taken from the stolen car, and the silver air gun used in connection with both
robberies.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a
program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities
they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for
everyone. Project Safe Neighborhoods
(PSN) is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction
efforts. PSN is an evidence-based
program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad
spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent
crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address
them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most
violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry
programs for lasting reductions in crime.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI and
the Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul
A. Riley, who prosecuted the case.
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