On Aug. 21, U.S. District Court Judge Nancy G. Edmunds sentenced Deon Bell to 8 ½ years in prison, his longest sentence to date. Bell, a Michigan resident, robbed a T-Mobile store in downtown Ann Arbor, United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison announced.

On October 10, 2022, Deon Bell, 27, of Detroit, Michigan, walked into a T-Mobile store in downtown Ann Arbor in the middle of the afternoon. He pulled out what appeared to be a gun and demanded that the two young employees take him to the safe, where he stole approximately $9,000 in smartphones and smartwatches. Bell also demanded the money from the register, stealing an additional $381. Before leaving the store, Bell told the employees to “have a blessed day.”

Bell did not know that the store’s employees were a step ahead and gave him a decoy or tracker phone along with real merchandise. This allowed law enforcement to track Bell from the T-Mobile to the store where he resold the goods.

This was just the most recent conviction for Bell, who between 1990 and 2000 appeared in the Washtenaw County Trial Court on charges of: drug dealing, forgery, domestic violence, carrying a concealed weapon, and criminal sexual conduct 3rd degree, among others. Washtenaw County Trial Court records show that many of the felony charges brought against Bell were subsequently dismissed by the Prosecutor, including charges of forgery and domestic violence.

“Violence has no place in our community,” U.S. Attorney Ison said. “Pulling a gun on people just trying to make a living is a cowardly act, and our office is committed to taking dangerous people off the streets.”

“Mr. Bell’s violent behavior has no place in our community. Actions have consequences. Period. End of story. The moral of this story is: Use an illegal firearm to commit violent acts, and you should pack your bags for a very long and hopefully ‘blessed’ stay in prison,” said Special Agent in Charge James Deir.

This case was investigated by agents from ATF and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Meghan Bean, Erin Ramamurthy, and Hank Moon. The robbery investigation started with the Ann Arbor Police Department and Michigan State Police.