A Harrisburg man has been sentenced to nearly 20 years in federal prison after a string of armed robberies across four states. Kyle Jaden Morales, 21, targeted fast-food joints and a bank during a 12-day spree in March 2022. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania confirmed that Judge Christopher C. Conner handed down a 230-month sentence for robberies that violated the Hobbs Act, which deals with extortion and robbery impacting interstate commerce.

During his crime wave, Morales hit several McDonald’s restaurants and Sheetz convenience stores, along with United Bank, using a handgun to intimidate workers, according to an official press release. His actions stretched across Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, instilling fear and chaos in workers just trying to do their jobs. Morales was ordered to cough up $5,094 to compensate the businesses he terrorized, and on top of his prison time, he faces five years of supervised release.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, coupled with local law enforcement agencies, pieced together the case against Morales, which proceeded without incident to a guilty plea. Morales admitted to the charges of Hobbs Act robbery, bank robbery, and brandishing a firearm during a violent crime. The conviction brings a measure of closure to the victims, but the psychological scars may linger longer than the judicial system’s ruling. Besides imprisonment and restitution, Judge Conner also levied a special assessment of $400 against Morales.