United States Attorney Erica H. MacDonald today announced the sentencing of MICHAEL IMAN WHITE, 20, to 120 months in prison for the robbery and attempted robbery of multiple Walgreens pharmacies. WHITE and his codefendant JAVONN T. LEWIS, 24, were charged in a superseding indictment on November 20, 2019. WHITE, who pleaded guilty on March 7, 2019, was sentenced today before Senior Judge Donovan W. Frank in U.S. District Court in St. Paul, Minnesota. LEWIS, who pleaded guilty on May 22, 2019, is scheduled to be sentenced on October 3, 2019.

According to the defendant’s guilty plea and documents filed in court, during a four-month period, between April and July of 2018, WHITE used force, violence, and fear of injury to rob or attempt to rob five Walgreens Pharmacies in St. Paul and Edina, Minnesota. WHITE terrorized numerous store employees by pointing actual or replica firearms at them and sometimes restraining them with zip ties. In total, WHITE and his accomplices stole more than $75,000 worth of narcotics and other controlled substances.

The Hobbs Act, passed by Congress in 1946, allows federal prosecutors to prosecute individuals who commit armed robberies of businesses engaged in interstate commerce. If convicted, WHITE faces a potential maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count.

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI, the Edina Police Department, the Saint Paul Police Department, and the Bloomington Police Department. This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, an initiative that brings together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey S. Paulsen is prosecuting the case.

 

Defendant Information:

MICHAEL IMAN WHITE, 20

Muncie, Ind.

Convicted:

Interference with commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act), 1 count

Sentenced:

120 months in prison

Three years of supervised release

$84,740 in restitution

 

 

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United States Attorney’s Office, District of Minnesota: (612) 664-5600