Memphis Men Sentenced to Federal Imprisonment for Participation in 2021 Business Robbery

Memphis, TN – Three Memphis men have been sentenced to a total of over 30 years in federal prison after being convicted of a business robbery that occurred in the fall of 2021. Joseph C. Murphy, Jr., Interim United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, announced the sentences today.

According to the information presented in court, Anthony Lewis, 36, Kyle Walker, 22, and Aramis Smith, 34, participated in an armed robbery in the early morning of November 10, 2021.  Walker and Lewis entered a gas station on Summer Avenue in Memphis, while Smith waited outside in the getaway car.  Walker and Lewis approached the lone clerk as she was stocking the shelves. Walker grabbed her and brandished a firearm as he made threats and pushed her to the registers.  Lewis moved to the doorway and stood as a lookout as Walker forced the clerk to empty the register.  The trio fled with approximately $100.  

Unbeknownst to the robbers, a good Samaritan saw the robbery in progress, called 911 and provided a description of the getaway vehicle.  Dispatchers relayed the robbery in progress call to Memphis Police Department officers; and undercover officers with the Violent Crime Unit (VCU) observed the suspect vehicle fleeing the scene.  VCU officers followed the suspect vehicle on I-240 as they coordinated additional units to arrive and make a traffic stop. When marked units were in place, officers attempted to stop the suspect vehicle with lights and sirens; but the vehicle fled.  Ultimately, the suspect vehicle wrecked on the off-ramp immediately before the Hernando DeSoto Bridge; and officers engaged in a brief foot pursuit with two of the suspects before they were all taken into custody.

All three men pled guilty to one count of business robbery. Walker and Lewis also pled guilty to one count of aiding and abetting the brandishing of a firearm during a crime of violence.   

Senior United States District Court Judge John T. Fowlkes, Jr. sentenced Walker to 125 months of imprisonment on August 31, 2023, and Smith to 120 months of imprisonment on February 21, 2024.  Lewis was sentenced to 147 months on May 1, 2025 by United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Judge Andre B. Mathis.  Additionally, on May 8, 2025, Judge Fowlkes sentenced Lewis to an additional 24 months in federal prison as a result of his Supervised Release Violation based on this case and a prior federal conviction.   There is no parole in the federal system.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Safe Streets Task Force and the Memphis Police Department investigated this case.

Assistant United States Attorneys Greg Wagner and Lynn Crum prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.  Former Assistant United States Attorney Courtney Lewis also assisted in prosecuting this case on behalf of the United States.

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For more information, please contact the media relations team at USATNW.Media@usdoj.gov. Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office on Facebook or on X at @WDTNNews for office news and updates.