PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney William M. McSwain
announced that Lukeen Gerald, 31, of Philadelphia, PA, was sentenced to 56
years’ imprisonment by United States District Court Judge Petrese B. Tucker for
a series of armed robberies in Philadelphia. The Court further ordered the
defendant to serve three years’ supervised release and to pay $4,330 in
restitution and a special assessment of $1,500.
The defendant committed a staggering seven armed robberies
of convenience stores and a bar in Philadelphia over a four-week period in
early 2015. During each robbery, Gerald brandished a gun and wore a mask. In
one armed robbery of a Dunkin Donuts, he accused the store employee of moving
too slowly in handing over the store’s cash and fired his gun in anger.
Gerald was arrested after his seventh robbery when his car
was stopped by Philadelphia Police officers. Following his arrest, the police
recovered a shotgun, ski mask, and cash from his car. After receiving his
Miranda warnings, not only did the defendant admit he committed the robberies,
but also he described each robbery in detail and told law enforcement where
they could find evidence linking him to his crimes. The defendant has
previously been convicted of a felony and therefore was prohibited by law from
possessing a firearm. After a five-day trial, he was convicted on all 15 counts
of the federal Indictment.
“Gerald and criminals like him selfishly engage in violent
acts that cause harm to innocent small business owners, their employees, and
our community as a whole,” said U.S. Attorney McSwain. “Showing total disregard
for the lives and property of others, Gerald terrorized people who were simply
trying to earn an honest living. These law-abiding residents deserve
protection, and my Office is working tirelessly to make sure that they have
it.”
“Lukeen Gerald is a vicious and violent offender whose armed
robbery spree left his victims traumatized,” said Tara A. McMahon, Acting
Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division. “In the course of a
month, he targeted seven different establishments, and history suggests he’d
have kept at it, had he not been stopped by the Philadelphia Police Department.
Know that the FBI and PPD are working together every day to make this city
safer by putting criminals like Gerald behind bars.”
“The investigation, arrest, and successful prosecution of
Lukeen Gerald is further evidence of the merits of a collaborative approach to
combating violent crime,” said Danielle Outlaw, Philadelphia Police Department
Commissioner. “We are privileged to have worked alongside our law enforcement
partners in securing the conviction, and anticipate that the attendant
sentencing will have an appreciable effect on the safety of the community we
serve.”
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a
program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities
they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for
everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s
renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s
Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law
enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based
strategies to reduce violent crime.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation and the Philadelphia Police Department, and is being prosecuted
by Assistant United States Attorneys Sarah Damiani and Roberta Benjamin.
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