LITTLE ROCK—Freddy Najil, who robbed three banks at gunpoint in the span of three months, will spend the next 211 months in federal prison for bank robbery and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Jonathan D. Ross, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, announced the sentence, which was handed down today by United States District Court Chief Judge Kristine G. Baker.
On June 6, 2024, a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Arkansas charged Najil, 37, of Memphis, Tennessee, in a two-count Indictment with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and one count of bank robbery. On March 4, 2025, a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Mississippi charged Najil in a six-count Indictment with two counts of bank robbery, two counts of using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
On May 9, 2025, Najil consented to the transfer of his Mississippi case to the Eastern District of Arkansas for plea and sentencing. On November 3, 2025, Najil pleaded guilty to bank robbery and being a felon in possession of a firearm. In addition to the 17-year and 7-month sentence, Chief Judge Baker also sentenced Najil to serve three years’ supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
On February 9, 2024, officers with the Horn Lake (Mississippi) Police Department responded to a bank robbery at Renasant Bank. Witnesses advised and security footage confirmed the suspect, later identified as Najil, pointed a firearm at four different bank employees while demanding money. In total, Najil fled with approximately $2,724 from Renasant Bank.
On April 18, 2024, officers with the Southaven (Mississippi) Police Department responded to an armed robbery at the Securtrust Bank. The suspect, later identified as Najil, pointed a firearm at the bank teller, directed her “not to do anything stupid,” and fled with $12,251 from Securtrust Bank.
On May 3, 2024, officers with the West Memphis Police Department responded to an armed bank robbery at Evolve Bank. There, Najil pointed a firearm at employees, demanded money, and fled with $22,251. Hidden in the cash were GPS monitoring devices, which were used to locate and track Najil’s movements. West Memphis police officers and Arkansas State Police Troopers pursued the suspect in a black Infiniti GS3 into Memphis, where it crashed. Najil fled on foot, with money flying from his arms, until he was apprehended by authorities. Najil was located near loose bills and a .40 caliber pistol. At the scene, police recovered approximately $22,134 in U.S. currency.
During post-Miranda interviews, Najil admitted to officers that he robbed the banks in Horn Lake, Southaven, and West Memphis. He further admitted that he stole the vehicle he used to commit the bank robbery in West Memphis on May 3, 2024.
Najil’s multiple prior convictions for violent felonies and serious drug offenses classify him as an armed career criminal and therefore subject him to an enhanced sentence. His criminal history includes eight convictions for robbery with a dangerous weapon, six convictions for second-degree kidnapping, a conviction for possession of cocaine with intent to sell or deliver, a conviction for possession of marijuana with intent to sell or deliver, and a conviction for possession of cocaine.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Little Rock, Arkansas, and Jackson, Mississippi, Field Offices, with assistance from the Horn Lake Police Department, Southaven Police Department, Memphis Police Department, Arkansas State Police, and the West Memphis Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Eldridge for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Arkansas and Assistant U.S. Attorney Clyde McGee, Senior Litigation Counsel, for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Mississippi.
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