Central Pennsylvania Man Sentenced to Prison for Hobbs Act Robberies

HARRISBURG – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that U.S. District Judge Christopher C. Conner sentenced Kyle Jaden Morales, age 21, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to 230 months’ imprisonment following his conviction for robberies of businesses engaged in interstate commerce (Hobbs Act robbery), bank robbery, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, Morales previously pleaded guilty to these offenses, which involved Morales’ robberies of McDonald’s restaurants, Sheetz convenience stores, and United Bank in March 2022 during a 12-day crime spree in the states of Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. As part of these robberies, Morales pointed a handgun at employees and took money by means of actual and threatened force, violence, and fear of injury. Judge Conner also ordered Morales to pay $5,094 in restitution to the McDonald’s Corporation, Sheetz, Inc., and United Bank, to pay a special assessment of $400, and to serve five years of supervised release after he completes his prison sentence.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the East Pennsboro Township Police Department, and the Pennsylvania State Police,  and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David C. Williams and Samuel S. Dalke.