INDIANAPOLIS—United States Attorney Josh J. Minkler announced today the convictions of Armand R. Fuller, 22, and Darian T. Dowdell, 23, both of Indianapolis, for their role in a string of armed robberies in Indianapolis and neighboring counties. Following their pleas of guilty today, U.S. District Judge Jane Magnus–Stinson sentenced Fuller and Dowdell to 25 years each in federal prison.

“These two men are violent offenders who deserve to spend the next 25 years of their lives in federal prison,” said Minkler. “They made a living robbing local businesses and now are being held accountable.”

During today’s proceedings, Judge Stinson heard evidence that between November of 2013 and February of 2014, Fuller, Dowdell, and a third Indianapolis man, Fletcher A. Greer, 22, robbed some thirteen commercial establishments in the Indianapolis area at gunpoint. Those robberies included four Speedway gas stations, five McDonald’s restaurants, a Jack in the Box, a Starbucks, and a Little Caesar’s pizza business. In at least one robbery, members of the trio pointed a gun at the head of a pregnant business employee and demanded cash and the employee’s personal cell phone. In another robbery, the trio pointed guns at customers of the business and demanded the customers turn over personal items, including cell phones and a laptop computer.

Based on surveillance footage from security cameras at the various businesses, the FBI and IMPD linked common elements among all the robberies, to include distinctive clothing worn by the perpetrators, and distinctive weapons the perpetrators carried, and determined that the robberies were all connected.

On February 18, 2014, Fuller, Dowdell, and Greer Greer, robbed a Steak ‘n Shake restaurant in Brownsburg, and then led responding units from the Brownsburg Police Department, IMPD, and the FBI Safe Streets Task Force on a high-speed chase over snow-covered roads in Hendricks County. The trio was apprehended after the vehicle they were driving failed to negotiate a turn and crashed into a drainage ditch. At the time of their arrest, Fuller, Dowdell, and Greer were found in possession of the distinctive clothing and firearms which linked them to the earlier robberies. All totaled, law enforcement officials recovered five firearms, two Tech 22, .22 caliber handguns, a .38 caliber revolver, a .357 caliber revolver, and a stolen .40 caliber semi-automatic handgun, that had been used in the robbery spree.

Special Agent in Charge W. Jay Abbott of the Indianapolis Office of the FBI stated, “violent crime remains a significant priority for the FBI and our Safe Streets Task Force is committed to investigating those most dangerous to our communities.”

According to Assistant United States Attorney Mathew J. Rinka, who prosecuted the case for the government, Judge Magnus-Stinson ordered Fuller and Dowdell to serve five years of supervised release following completion of their federal prison sentence, and ordered them to pay more than $18,000 in restitution to the various business and individuals they robbed.

Judge Magnus-Stinson sentenced Fletcher A. Greer in April of this year to 15 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for his role in the robberies.