INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis man has been sentenced to 29 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to several charges in connection with the armed robberies of several restaurants.
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.
Court documents show that between Dec. 29, 2019 and Jan. 22, 2024, Vales robbed six Indianapolis-area Arby's and Subway restaurants at gunpoint. According to court documents, during each robbery, Vales pretended to be a customer at the restaurant. As soon as Vales reached the register, he brandished a pistol with an extended magazine and ordered employees to hand over cash from either the register or safe.
According to court documents, the six robberies occurred at five different restaurants:
- Dec. 29, 2019 — Subway, 5389 Rockville Road
- Jan. 9, 2020 — Arby's, 801 W. 10th Street
- Jan. 13, 2020 — Arby's 3846 Lafayette Road
- Jan. 14, 2020 — Subway, 4088 Pendleton Way
- Jan. 17, 2020 — Subway, 6255 W. 56th Street
- Jan. 22, 2020 — Arby's 801 W. 10th Street
The Jan. 22 robbery took place at the same Arby's that Vales committed his second robbery. One of the employees, who remembered him from the previous robbery, began chasing after Vales.
After chasing him for about a block, Vales turned around and fired four shots at the employee. The employee was physically unharmed, according to court documents.
Later, police located 9 mm shell casings from the crime scene. Fingerprints on the shell casings pointed investigators to Vales as the suspect. After serving a search warrant for Vales' home, police seized the clothing and shoes used in all six robberies.
Court documents say that Vales admitted to police that he committed the robberies while using a 9 mm semiautomatic pistol. At the time of his arrest, Vales had previously been convicted of carrying a handgun without a license and also had a pending charge of 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. “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.”
A federal judge ordered Vales to serve three years probation following his release and pay $1,100 in restitution.
