SOUTH BEND - Donyea Fowler, age 34, of South Bend, Indiana was convicted of 6 counts of Hobbs Act Robbery and 7 counts of federal firearm offenses (being a felon in possession of a firearm and 6 counts for using a firearm in relation to crimes of violence (each of the six (6) Hobbs Act robberies), announced U.S. Attorney Kirsch.
U.S. District Court Judge Jon E. DeGuilio, presided over this 4-day trial.
According to documents in this case, in late 2017 through early 2018, Fowler robbed six convenience stores in the South Bend area while wearing a mask and brandishing a firearm. During the trial, evidence was presented to include videos of the masked robberies, a video of Fowler while unmasked cashing in a winning lottery ticket three minutes after one of the robberies, videos of the getaway car with a missing light, some phone location evidence, and DNA linking him to a gun that was found. Mr. Fowler has four prior felony convictions.
Sentencing of Mr. Fowler has been set for Sept. 25, 2019 at 1:30 PM.
The case was investigated by the FBI with the assistance of the South Bend Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joel R. Gabrielse.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys