United States of America v. Maurice Harris

Memphis, Tennessee, criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with committing a series of armed robberies of businesses in October 2024.

Maurice Harris, age 32, of Memphis, conducted a series of armed robberies of the following businesses within the Western District of Tennessee:

October 4, 2024: Metro by T-Mobile - 4673 Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, TN
October 7, 2024: Cricket Wireless - 1129 S. Dupress Street, Brownsville, TN
October 10, 2024: AT&T - 5287 Airline Road, Memphis, TN

In each robbery, Harris pretended to be a customer, then produced a handgun and demanded the store’s phones and tablets. During the robbery of the Brownsville Cricket Wireless store, a 5-year-old child was present. Investigators found the driver’s license identification of Harris that he left behind at the store when he fled. He was arrested at his place of employment in possession of the same handgun used in each of the robberies, in the same car he drove to each of the robberies, along with items stolen from two of the robberies. All three incidents were recorded on store surveillance videos, and he was identified in a photo line-up and later in court by each of the victims.

After a three-day trial, Harris was convicted as charged of three counts of robbery, three counts of use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Sentencing is set on March 18, 2026, before United States District Judge Mark S. Norris. There is no parole in the federal system.

U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant said: "Business owners and employees have a fundamental right to be safe from armed robbers who terrorize our communities with their lawlessness. The senselessness of gun violence has a long-lasting effect on victims of armed robbery, and we will no longer allow gun crime to rule our streets. This verdict sends a clear message that there will always be a reckoning, a real and significant consequence, for the commission of violent crimes."

This case was investigated by officers from the Memphis Police Department assigned to the FBI Nashville Field Office-Memphis Resident Agency’s Safe Streets Task Force, the Brownsville Police Department, and the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office.

Assistant United States Attorneys Jennifer Musselwhite and Greg Wagner prosecuted this case on behalf of the United States.

The Defendant was found guilty by a jury. Harris faces a mandatory statutory minimum sentence of 75 years in federal prison based on his prior convictions, and additional time for violating the conditions of his supervised release.