Three men from Memphis have been sentenced to a combined total of over 30 years in federal prison for their involvement in a business robbery that took place in the fall of 2021. The sentences were announced by Joseph C. Murphy, Jr., Interim United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee.
The court heard that Anthony Lewis, 36, Kyle Walker, 22, and Aramis Smith, 34, were involved in an armed robbery on November 10, 2021. Walker and Lewis entered a gas station on Summer Avenue in Memphis while Smith waited outside in the getaway car. Walker threatened the clerk with a firearm and forced her to empty the register as Lewis acted as a lookout. They escaped with approximately $100.
A bystander witnessed the robbery and alerted authorities with details about the getaway vehicle. Officers from the Memphis Police Department's Violent Crime Unit (VCU) pursued the suspects on I-240 until they crashed near the Hernando DeSoto Bridge. A brief foot chase ensued before all three men were apprehended.
The defendants pled guilty to one count of business robbery. Additionally, Walker and Lewis admitted to 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 on August 31, 2023, and Smith to 120 months on February 21, 2024. On May 1, 2025, Lewis received a sentence of 147 months from United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Judge Andre B. Mathis. Furthermore, Judge Fowlkes imposed an additional sentence of 24 months on May 8, 2025, due to Lewis's Supervised Release Violation related to this case and a prior conviction.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Safe Streets Task Force along with the Memphis Police Department.
Assistant United States Attorneys Greg Wagner and Lynn Crum prosecuted this case for the government with assistance from former Assistant United States Attorney Courtney Lewis.