ANN ARBOR, MI – A man accused of robbing a downtown Ann Arbor cellphone store at gunpoint has pleaded guilty to federal charges.
Deon Andrew Bell pleaded guilty, May 15, to one federal count each of interference with commerce by robbery, a 20-year felony, and destruction of evidence, court records show.
In pleading guilty, prosecutors are requesting the court to sentence Bell no more than the maximum recommended sentence provided in his presentence report which is still being calculated.
Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 21 at the U.S. District Court Eastern District of Michigan.
Bell, 27, was originally facing six felony charges from the Washtenaw County Prosecutors Office, though those charges were dismissed after the U.S. Department of Justice sought the case and charged him with one federal felony charge each of robbery and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, records show.
The charges stem from a robbery that occurred at 2:55 p.m., Oct. 10, at the T-Mobile store located at 200 E. Washington Street in downtown Ann Arbor.
Related: Gunman robs downtown Ann Arbor T-Mobile store in middle of day
Employees told police a man, later identified as Bell, walked into the store, pulled out a handgun and ordered the employees to fill his backpack with cell phones and cash, police said. The incident was caught on store surveillance, too.
Staff complied with the gunman’s demands and filled his bag with 13 electronic devices totaling $7,300 in value along with an unspecified amount of cash from the register. The gunman then fled on foot, police said.
While loading the gunman’s bag, one employee slipped in a decoy iPhone into the man’s bag which had a tracking device installed, according to the federal affidavit.
Police contacted T-Mobile’s asset protection department and were able to track the phones location to a cellphone store in Hamtramck, records show.
Investigators went to the store and discovered the suspect had sold the stolen items to the store for a total of $3,000 before being told one of the phones was a decoy, causing the suspect, Bell, to panic and immediately flee the store, records show.
Using surveillance video from around the Hamtramck, police identified the fleeing man as Bell who was later seen throwing several more stolen electronic devices in a dumpster.
Police obtained search warrants for Bell’s home and vehicle where they found the clothing he was wearing during the robbery as well as several discarded T-Mobile boxes and bags.
While he was in the Washtenaw County Jail he called his mother and asked her to pick up his phone, which contained photos of the stolen phone, telling her to destroy it, federal court records show.
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