Serial Bank Robber Sentenced to Over Six Years in Prison for Robbing Four Businesses

BOSTON – A Boston man was sentenced on July 31, 2024 in federal court in Boston for robbing four businesses, during which he brandished two large knives, while on federal supervised release for robbery charges out of New York.

Akeem Lahens, 34, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs to 77 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Lahens also was ordered to pay $1,998 in restitution to the four businesses he robbed. In April 2024, Lahens plead guilty to four counts of affecting commerce by armed robbery.

A series of commercial armed robberies occurred in Boston in late April and early May 2023: the armed robbery of Metro PCS in Roxbury on April 21, 2023; the armed robbery of Boost Mobile in Jamaica Plain on April 26, 2023; the armed robbery of Cricket Wireless in Jamaica Plain on April 27, 2023; and the armed robbery of Dunkin Donuts in Dorchester on May 4, 2023. Law enforcement believed that the robberies were connected and the perpetrator was likely the same person, as the suspect’s appearance in surveillance footage and witnesses descriptions was the same. Additionally, in each of the robberies, the suspect brandished two large knives, made a verbal demand for money, forcibly took money from the store and forced or attempted to force the victims into a rear room or bathroom of the store. 

On May 5, 2023 Lahens was arrested on state charges related to the armed robberies. During a search of Lahens’ residence in Dorchester on May 6, 2023 two knives and sandals worn by the robber in the April 26, 2023 robbery were recovered.  

At the time of the armed robberies, Lahens was on federal supervised release for a 2021 conviction in the Southern District of New York of five counts of robbery, for which he was sentenced to 30 months in prison.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox; and Michael A. Davis, Vice President Campus Safety and Chief of Police at Northeastern University made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney David G. Tobin of the Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.