INDIANAPOLIS - Javentay Chapman, 21, of Indianapolis, was sentenced to 111 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to robbery and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
According to court documents, On Feb. 25, 2021, Chapman and a juvenile male entered the AT&T store located at 1602 N. Lebanon Street in Lebanon, Indiana. Upon entering the store, the two robbers each brandished firearms at the store employee. The employee, with a gun pointed at him, was ordered to open the store’s safe and get on the floor. The robbers grabbed several phones and electronic items from the safe and placed them in a bag. One of the robbers asked the store employee if the phones had trackers on them, to which the employee stated he did not know. The robbers instructed the employee to stay on ground and then fled the business.
At least one of the cellular phones taken by the robbers had a GPS tracking device on it. Law enforcement was able to track the device and officers with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department were able to locate the vehicle driving south on I-65. A traffic stop was initiated near the intersection of Michigan and 38th Streets in Indianapolis. Chapman was one of the vehicle’s occupants.
Located within the vehicle were multiple cellular phones, accessories and the tracking devices that accompanied at least one of the phones. Investigators also located 2 firearms in the vehicle. Surveillance footage obtained from the AT&T store shows Chapman wearing the same clothing he was arrested in during the robbery.
Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, and Herbert J. Stapleton, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Indianapolis Field Office, made the announcement.
The FBI investigated the case. The Fishers Police Department, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and Lebanon Police Department provided valuable assistance. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker. As part of the sentence, Judge Barker ordered that Chapman be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for three years following his release from federal prison.
U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Lawrence D. Hilton who prosecuted this case.
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 gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
