South Bend Man Convicted Following 4-Day Jury Trial

SOUTH BEND – Donyea Fowler, age 34, of South Bend, Indiana was convicted of 6 counts of Hobbs Act Robbery and 7 counts of federal firearm offenses (being a felon in possession of a firearm and 6 counts for using a firearm in relation to crimes of violence (each of the six (6) Hobbs Act robberies), announced U.S. Attorney Kirsch.

U.S. District Court Judge Jon E. DeGuilio, presided over this 4-day trial. 

According to documents in this case, in late 2017 through early 2018, Fowler robbed six convenience stores in the South Bend area while wearing a mask and brandishing a firearm.  During the trial, evidence was presented to include videos of the masked robberies, a video of Fowler while unmasked cashing in a winning lottery ticket three minutes after one of the robberies, videos of the getaway car with a missing light, some phone location evidence, and DNA linking him to a gun that was found. Mr. Fowler has four prior felony convictions.

Sentencing of Mr. Fowler has been set for September 25, 2019 at 1:30 PM. 

The case was investigated by the FBI with the assistance of the South Bend Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joel R. Gabrielse. 

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