Orlando Rapper “Fella” Convicted of Armed Bank Robbery

ORLANDO, FL—Acting United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announced that a federal jury today found Dewarren Antoine Lewis, aka “Fella,” (28, Orlando), guilty of two counts of bank robbery with assault and two counts of using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. Lewis faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in federal prison on the bank robbery convictions, followed by a mandatory minimum consecutive penalty of 32 years in federal prison on the firearms convictions. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 4, 2013.

Lewis was indicted on September 4, 2013.

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, on January 9, 2013, Lewis robbed the Wells Fargo Bank in Orlando at gunpoint before fleeing with over $9,000. On March 20, 2013, he robbed the Regions Bank in Orlando. As he did in the Wells Fargo robbery, Lewis rushed into the bank covered from head to toe, wearing a stocking over his face. He then pointed his gun at bank employees, forcing his way behind the teller line and filling his bag with the bank’s money. After fleeing the bank, a witness saw Lewis take off his disguise and drive away from the scene of the crime. Lewis then led police on a high-speed chase through the streets of Orlando before bailing out of his car and running away on foot. When finally apprehended by Orange County deputies, Lewis was carrying a bag filled with more than $23,000, which he had just stolen from the Regions Bank.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joseph M. Schuster.