LAWRENCE, Indiana — The recent sentencing of a man, who faced charges alongside two other Indianapolis men in connection with the robbery of a Lawrence mobile phone store in 2020, brought the total amount of federal prison time for the convicted men to a total of 25 years, the FBI announced Friday.
Clifford Lewis, 20; Tyrese Turner, 22; and Calvin Johnson, 21; all of Indianapolis, were sentenced to federal prison after pleading guilty to interference with commerce by robbery and using a firearm during a crime of violence.
Lewis was sentenced to eight years in federal prison. In November, Turner was sentenced to seven and a half years in federal prison. In June 2022, Johnson was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.
Shortly after 7 p.m. on Nov. 12, 2020, court documents claim Johnson and Lewis entered a T-Mobile store on Pendleton Pike in Lawrence.
Both men reportedly approached an employee at the display counter and inquired about switching a service plan. As the employee began to help them, the employee noticed Lewis had a pistol secured in a holster in his waistband.
Johnson and Lewis then reportedly approached a second employee as Turner entered the business carrying a black backpack over his shoulders.
Johnson brandished a semiautomatic pistol at the second employee and ordered him into the back room.
In the back room, the three men took turns removing electronic devices from the safe and placing them into Turner’s backpack.
Johnson zip-tied the victims' hands behind their backs, as well as their ankles.
Once the defendants were satisfied with the number of cellphones in the backpack, Lewis began wrapping it in foil.
As the robbery was still in progress, Lawrence Police Department officers arrived.
All three men attempted to flee, but Johnson and Turner were caught and arrested in the store. Lewis fled the scene and was arrested on a later date.
Officers then searched Johnson and found a Taurus 9mm caliber semiautomatic pistol in his right front jean pocket.
Officers located the loaded Glock 19 9mm caliber semiautomatic pistol that was in Lewis’ waistband in a ravine behind the store.
Authorities estimate the total amount of property taken during the robbery included over 50 devices and amounted to a value of $43,804.30.
Federal Bureau of Investigation and Lawrence Police Department investigated this case.
A judge also ordered Lewis to serve five years of supervised release, while Turner and Johnson will serve three years of probation following their release from federal prison.
