A Miami man with a history of convictions has been sentenced to 27 years in prison for a series of armed robberies. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida, Javonne Wilks, 42, was handed down a 324-month sentence followed by five years of supervised release for crimes committed during his federal supervised release period.
In one detailed incident, Wilks, alongside two accomplices, stormed a Cooper City bank on April 6, 2022, armed with an AR-15 style long gun and two handguns. The trio wore dark skull hats and face masks, proceeding to steal a staggering $242,113. During the robbery, bank employees were forced to lie down at gunpoint. Wilks continued to brazenly defy the law on June 6, 2023, when he and another co-conspirator robbed a Miami Springs credit union, making off with around $29,000. Law enforcement officers later found $11,395 in cash and incriminating attire in Wilks's vehicle.
This heavy sentence comes as a result of Wilks's recent conviction, which includes counts of armed bank robbery, armed credit union robbery, and brandishing a firearm during a violent crime. This series of crimes occurred while Wilks was still under federal supervised release, which followed a 2005 sentence for possession with the intent to distribute crack cocaine and firearm possession by a felon.
U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe and FBI Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri announced the sentence, praising the collaborative effort of multiple law enforcement agencies in the investigation. This case falls under Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program aimed to make neighborhoods safer by reducing violent crime and gun violence. WiIks's case exemplifies the determination of law enforcement to quickly bring to close cases that threaten community safety.
The collective operation that led to Wilks's arrest involved the FBI Miami with assistance from the Broward Sheriff’s Office, Miami Police Department, Miami-Dade Police Department, Miami Gardens Police Department, South Miami Police Department, and Miami Springs Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ajay J. Alexander and Jorge Roberto Delgado prosecuted and managed the asset forfeiture aspects of the case, respectively.
