50 years in prison for Indy man who orchestrated armed robberies

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — An Indianapolis man was convicted and sentenced to federal prison for four armed robberies, one ending in a death.

On Monday, Demetris Campbell, 29, was sentenced to 50 years in federal prison for his role in several armed robberies.

In July 2020, Campbell lured victims to an apartment complex under the guise of selling them items from the online marketplaces LetGo and OfferUp. Once the victims arrived, police said, Campbell robbed them.

A 15-year-old boy and his father were robbed in Campbell’s first scheme. Under the username “Man with a Plan” on OfferUp, Campbell pretended to sell the two an iPhone 11.

When the two arrived, police said three men, including Campbell’s co-conspirator, Angel Montano, robbed the victims of their money. The men were armed with pistols.

In that robbery, the 15-year-old was hit in the face with a gun and had his Nike Air Jordan shoes stolen.

Police say Campbell used the same apartment complex to rob two more victims. One was a mother with two children in her car; Montano pressed his gun to the woman’s thigh during the robbery.

In the fourth robbery, Campbell organized to meet near Adams and 21st Streets. The victim and his brother felt uneasy after arriving, and tried to leave. Montano blocked them with his car, then shot into their vehicle killing the buyer’s brother and seriously wounding the buyer.

Indianapolis Metropolitan police arrested the Campbell the next day after tracing his identity from the fake usernames used in the robberies.

“The man who was taken from his family by these vicious criminals should still be here today. His brother should never have been shot, and the other victims—including multiple children—should never have suffered the traumas inflicted on them by these men,” U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana Zachary A. Myers said in a press release.

Montano was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison in February 2023.