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An Indianapolis man was sentenced to 29 years in federal prison after committing armed robbery at six Indianapolis restaurants and shooting at an employee, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana.
Lamont Vales, 25, pleaded guilty to six counts of interference with commerce by robbery, two counts of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and one count of discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
In addition to serving time in federal prison, Vales was ordered to three years of probation and must pay $1,100 in restitution.
The sentencing comes more than four years after Vales’s robbery streak began in December 2019.
From Dec. 29, 2019, to Jan. 22, 2020, Vales robbed six Arby’s and Subway restaurants at gunpoint, according to documents in the case.
Vales pretended to be a customer during each of them. He would go up to the register, pull out a pistol with an extended magazine and demand employees give him cash from the restaurant’s register or safe.
On Jan. 22, 2020, Vales robbed an Arby’s he had previously robbed 13 days before. One of the employees knew about the previous robbery and chased Vales.
After about a block of running, Vales fired four shots at the employee, who was physically unharmed in the incident.
Fingerprints on the shell casings at the scene were identified as Vales’s. In a recorded interview, Vales admitted to the crimes.
At the time he was arrested, Vales had been convicted of carrying a handgun without a license. He also has a pending charge for battery resulting in serious bodily injury.
“Six times in three short weeks, this armed criminal terrorized employees and patrons of Indianapolis restaurants,” said Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana in the news release. “No one should be forced to fear for their lives simply because they went to work or for a bite to eat. To make our neighborhoods safer, gun violence must be met with serious consequences. Our federal prosecutors are committed to working with the outstanding investigators of the FBI and IMPD to ensure that violent, armed criminals are taken off our streets and held accountable for the damage they cause.”
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