FORT WAYNE – William Washington, 27 years old, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Holly A. Brady after pleading guilty to charges associated with his role in a series of armed robberies, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.
Washington was sentenced to 154 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $528.00 in restitution.
According to documents in the case, Washington plead guilty to Hobbs Act Robberies (Counts 3 & 7) and using a firearm during a crime of violence (Count 8). The criminal activity took place between the evening hours of January 21, and the early hours of January 22, 2018. Washington and his accomplice, co-defendant Brendan Collicott, robbed several Fort Wayne gas stations. Washington waited outside, while an armed Collicott robbed the gas stations, after which the two fled together. At one of the robberies, Washington was seen interacting with the store clerk immediately before Collicott robbed the clerk. No more than a few hundred dollars was taken during any of the robberies.
On January 11, 2022, co-defendant Collicott was sentenced to 252 months imprisonment for his role in these crimes.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives with the assistance of the Fort Wayne Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lesley J. Miller Lowery.
This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
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