Kamanye Williams, 26, of Washington, D.C., has been sentenced to 16.5 years in federal prison for his involvement as the gunman in a series of seven inside-job robberies at a Walgreens store located in Chinatown. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Williams pleaded guilty on March 11 to conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce by robbery under the Hobbs Act and also admitted guilt to two counts related to using and brandishing a firearm during crimes of violence.
U.S. District Court Judge Jia M. Cobb imposed the sentence, which includes five years of supervised release after imprisonment and an order for Williams to pay $7,245.75 in restitution.
The case involved cooperation among several agencies, including the FBI’s Washington Field Office Criminal Division and the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). FBI Special Agent in Charge Reid Davis and MPD Chief Pamela A. Smith joined Pirro in announcing the sentencing.
According to court documents, Williams worked with Gianni Robinson and Walgreens managers Michael Robinson and London Teeter over nearly eight months between July 2023 and February 2024. The group carried out robberies on seven occasions: July 18, August 2, September 2, November 10, December 4 of 2023; January 9 and February 11 of 2024.
In total, they stole at least $28,983 from the Walgreens at the intersection of 7th and H Streets NW. The robberies ended on February 11 when Williams was shot by a Special Police Officer while attempting another theft.
Each incident followed a similar pattern: a masked gunman entered during evening hours as cash was being moved or had just arrived at the Manager’s Office. The gunman would force entry or compel an employee to open the office before robbing those present and fleeing through a rear exit.
Store managers Michael Robinson and Teeter alternated pretending to be victims during these incidents so that surveillance footage would appear legitimate under later review by law enforcement.
Text messages reviewed by investigators revealed efforts among conspirators to make each robbery look authentic. In one exchange about staging violence for credibility's sake, "Williams brazenly claimed that he wanted to 'go in violently now, I’m tired of this not hitting what we supposed to hit.' Gianni Robinson indicated that his 'unc' (Michael Robinson) was prepared to be the victim and be 'smack[ed] out' during the robbery."
Before some robberies took place, Michael Robinson provided insider information such as security guard schedules, which employees knew access codes for secure areas where cash was kept, timing details about cash deliveries into offices, and optimal moments for carrying out thefts.
On February 11—the final attempted robbery—an armed Special Police Officer escorted Michael Robinson while carrying daily cash receipts toward the Manager’s Office when Williams approached with a firearm drawn. After threatening the officer and taking his handgun inside the office along with cash from bags present there, Williams tried leaving but encountered another armed officer who shot him once in the chest before he could escape.
Williams had previously been convicted in D.C. Superior Court in connection with a car-to-car shooting incident from Northeast Washington that left two men injured—one paralyzed—and received probation under local youth offender statutes following that conviction.
The investigation into these events was led by members of an FBI task force focused on violent crime alongside MPD personnel. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Martin prosecuted this case with help from former Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Song and former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Monica Svetoslavov.
