Skip to main content
Press Release

Armed Bank Robber Sentenced To More Than 12 Years in Federal Prison

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Georgia

SAVANNAH, GA: Lamarlvin Arkeena Watts, 22, from Savannah, was sentenced earlier this week by Senior U. S. District Judge William T. Moore, Jr. to 148 months in federal prison for bank robbery and brandishing a firearm during the commission of that crime. Watts’ convictions followed a two-day jury trial in January 2017.

 

According to the evidence presented at trial, Watts invaded the Wells Fargo bank branch at 1900 E. Victory Drive in Savannah on July 14, 2015 and threatened to shoot two tellers if they refused to give him cash. Searches of Watts’ house and vehicle uncovered items Watts had worn during the robbery, several hundred dollars of cash and ammunition matching the gun he had used to threaten the tellers.

 

At sentencing, Watts asked the Court to recommend to that he be allowed to serve his sentence at a federal prison close to Savannah. Citing the violent nature of Watts’ crimes, prosecutors successfully opposed that request.

 

Acting U. S. Attorney James D. Durham stated, “The U. S. Attorney’s Office is committed to targeting and combatting violent crime in our community. Parole doesn’t exist in the federal system, and with nearly 125 federal prisons in more than 35 different states, violent criminals prosecuted by this Office should expect to serve long sentences, far away from home.”

 

The FBI and the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department investigated the robbery. The ATF and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Division of Forensic Sciences also provided valuable assistance.

 

Assistant United States Attorneys Theodore S. Hertzberg and Tania D. Groover prosecuted the case. For additional information, please contact the United States Attorney’s Office at (912) 201-2522.

Updated April 27, 2017