Mario Merriweather, who has a criminal record spanning three decades, was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison for robbing a Burger King restaurant in Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. The sentencing follows his conviction for interference with interstate commerce by robbery after he pleaded guilty on August 14, 2025.
According to U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg, “Undeterred by multiple stints in state prison, Merriweather repeatedly terrorized victims who were simply trying to go about their jobs. His most recent attack on a Burger King restaurant has resulted in a significant sentence that demonstrates that criminals who try to ‘have it their way’ by robbing citizens in this District will be held accountable and removed from the community.”
Mitchell Jackson, Special Supervisory Resident Agent of FBI Georgia’s Cartersville office, stated: “No one should ever be terrorized physically or emotionally, like the victims in these violent armed robberies were. The FBI is proud to work with our local law enforcement partners in helping to convict these repeat offenders at the federal level, where they face stiffer penalties and no opportunity for parole.”
Court records show that on October 26, 2023, Merriweather entered the Burger King just south of the Tennessee-Georgia border brandishing what appeared to be a pistol. He ordered an employee to empty the register and forced all staff into a walk-in freezer. One worker managed to prevent the freezer door from locking while another called emergency services.
An employee who escaped was legally armed and pursued Merriweather outside. When Merriweather turned and pointed what looked like a firearm at him, the employee fired two shots but missed. Merriweather fled but collapsed near his vehicle; officers found him lying on his back next to an air pistol and recovered cash inside a Burger King bag.
Merriweather's previous convictions include robbing Wendy’s and Burger King restaurants in 2001, two individuals in 2005, and two banks in 2013.
U.S. District Judge William M. Ray II handed down an 11-year sentence followed by three years of supervised release.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation led the investigation with prosecution by Assistant U.S. Attorney Calvin A. Leipold III.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia acts as the main federal law enforcement agency for north Georgia—including Atlanta suburbs—and manages both criminal prosecutions and civil cases for millions of residents across this region (https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga). The office also collaborates with other agencies on issues such as terrorism and drug trafficking while handling cases that can have national or international scope (https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga).
For more information about this case or others handled by this office—which prioritizes threats such as terrorism and civil rights violations—contact details are available at http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
