A 35-year-old Washington man who used a BB gun to rob fast-food workers, a postal employee and a convenience store clerk across four holdups in fall 2022 was sentenced Tuesday, Aug. 18, to 15 years in federal prison.

U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta imposed the 180-month sentence on Mark Thomas Moore after Moore was convicted on Nov. 6, 2025, following a bench trial on five federal counts, including two Hobbs Act robbery charges, armed robbery, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence and armed postal robbery. Mehta also ordered five years of supervised release.

"He threatened them at gunpoint, leaving many with lasting trauma," U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro said in a statement announcing the sentence. "Today's sentence ensures that Moore will be held accountable for his actions and will not be able to harm anyone in our community for a long time."

The spree began Oct. 26, 2022, at a McDonald's on the 1500 block of Pennsylvania Avenue SE. Moore lurked inside for about 15 minutes, then followed a female employee into a restroom and held her at gunpoint. The worker had recently immigrated to the United States and spoke no English; she tried to use a translation app on her phone to communicate with him. Moore took the phone, forced her to the cash register and ordered another employee to fill a bag with money before fleeing.

On Nov. 9, 2022, Moore pointed the BB gun at a 7-Eleven employee on the 1500 block of Independence Avenue SE and demanded cash. When the clerk tried to conceal some of the money, Moore threatened him again with the weapon.

Moore struck twice on Nov. 28, 2022.

He entered the U.S. Postal Service facility on the 600 block of Pennsylvania Avenue SE. As employees fled, one fell while trying to escape. Moore stood over her, pointed the gun at her and threatened her as she pleaded for her life. He forced a third employee to the register at gunpoint, then fled on a distinctive green bicycle.

That same day, Moore robbed a CVS in Arlington, Virginia, where he grabbed a bank note containing a GPS tracker. He fled on the same green bike.

Law enforcement located Moore after the Arlington robbery and recovered a BB gun matching the weapon seen in surveillance footage from the three D.C. holdups. Investigators also recovered clothing from his girlfriend's apartment, along with DNA and fingerprints linking him to the offenses.

The FBI Washington Field Office, the Metropolitan Police Department and the Arlington County Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Caelainn Carney and Jared English prosecuted the case, which is docketed as 23cr256 in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.