Tampa Man Sentenced to 62 Years Imprisonment for Armed Robbery and Carjacking

Tampa, Florida — U.S. Attorney Robert E. O’Neill announces that U.S. District Judge Virginia Covington today sentenced Frederick Wardell Mitchell (age 29, of Tampa) to sixtytwo years in federal prison for the armed robbery of a Waffle House Restaurant, and the subsequent carjacking of a patron in the restaurant. Mitchell was found guilty by a jury on October 1, 2010.

According to court documents and testimony at trial, on August 18, 2007, Mitchell and two other suspects entered the Waffle House Restaurant on

Westshore Boulevard

in Tampa, brandishing firearms and demanding money and jewelry from employees and patrons. Following the robbery, in order to facilitate their escape, the three carjacked a patron who was in the restaurant. They fled in the carjacked vehicle which resulted in a high speed chase with Tampa Police patrol officers. The chase ended when Mitchell and his accomplices abruptly stopped the vehicle and fled on foot. According to the trial testimony of one of the officers, as Mitchell was running, he raised his gun at the officers. During the encounter, officers fired at the suspects. One suspect was shot and remained at the scene, while Mitchell and the third suspect managed to escape. Mitchell was later dropped off at a hospital with a gunshot wound. Mitchell was later arrested.

This case was investigated by Tampa Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Colleen Murphy Davis.