Man linked to robberies in multiple North Texas cities sentenced to 60 years in prison

GRAPEVINE, Texas — A man believed to be linked to multiple robberies across at least five cities in North Texas was sentenced to 60 years in federal prison, officials said. 

In May 2024, Charles Brownlee, 36, was arrested on complaints of aggravated robbery and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, police say.

In March 2025, a jury convicted Brownlee of one count of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, five counts of interference with commerce by robbery, five counts of using, carrying and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence and one count of felon in possession of a firearm. 

He was sentenced Friday to 720 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor, who also ordered him to $21,123, the Department of Justice said in a press release. 

Police initially responded to a robbery at the Cash Store in the 1500 block of W. State Highway 114 at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday. A man wearing a white shirt, white hat, jeans, and a medical mask came into the store, claimed he had a gun, and demanded money, officials say. He then took the cash, forced a store clerk into a bathroom, and left the scene, according to officials. The clerk wasn’t hurt.

Police noticed the man’s description matched that of a suspect in another robbery in Hurst less than an hour before the robbery in Grapevine.

Detectives identified the suspect’s vehicle from surveillance video and tracked the vehicle to Arlington.

Brownlee robbed at gunpoint five Cash Store businesses in Grand Prairie, Fort Worth, Euless, Hurst, and Grapevine, the release states. To conceal his identity, Brownlee covered his face with a medical mask and wore different baseball caps and outfits for the robberies, officials said. 

“The lengthy sentence imposed justly puts this serial felon behind bars for a very long time and serves as a message to others that we will vigorously prosecute those who jeopardize our communities’ safety,” Nancy E. Larson, acting U.S. attorney, said in a press release.