Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Indiana Man Sentenced to 9 Years in Federal Prison for Armed Robbery
MADISON, WIS. – Scott C. Blader, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Angelo McKenzie, 25, South Bend, Indiana, was sentenced November 15 by Chief U.S. District Judge James Peterson to nine years in federal prison for his role in the armed robbery of a T-Mobile Cellular Store in Madison, Wisconsin. On September 6, 2018, McKenzie pleaded guilty to conspiring to rob a business and to brandishing a firearm during that robbery.
On January 12, 2018, McKenzie was the driver for three men who robbed the T-Mobile store on Dempsey Road in Madison. One of the robbers brandished a handgun during this robbery and employees of the store were directed to lay on the floor at gunpoint, while the other robbers stole cellular telephones, SIM cards, and cash.
In July and August of this year, Judge Peterson sentenced co-conspirators Steven Gayden and Doran Skanes to nine-year prison sentences, and co-conspirator William Thomas, whom Judge Peterson held was manipulated into committing the robbery, to seven years in prison. Skanes brandished the firearm during the robbery. All four co-conspirators were subject to seven-year mandatory minimum sentences because a firearm was brandished during the robbery.
Judge Peterson called this a very serious crime, noting that the punishment must reflect the impact on the victims and community, while also serving to deter others from committing similar crimes.
The charges against in this case are the result of an investigation by the Madison Police Department, Dane County Sheriff’s Office, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rita M. Rumbelow.
This case has been brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the U.S. Justice Department’s program to reduce violent crime. The PSN approach emphasizes coordination between state and federal prosecutors and all levels of law enforcement to
address gun crime, especially felons illegally possessing firearms and ammunition and violent and drug crimes that involve the use of firearms.
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