robbery in the city's history. Local police believed there was a connection between this robbery and a robbery that took place in May 1994 in Daytona Beach, and contacted the FBI. In 1996, there was a robbery of a jeweler in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania. The robbers had been there the day before and returned asking about a ring. The robbers drew what police at the time believed were firearms, and restrained the store owner. The store owner managed to break free and grabbed a .38 caliber pistol and fired five shots at the robbers as they fled. One bullet narrowly missed Lawton, but struck his brother. Lawton later said that he used a BB gun during the robbery. Afterwards, another jewelry store in Lower Bucks County became suspicious of a person they believed was casing the place for a future robbery. They reported the car's license plate, which linked the car to Lawton. Lawton was arrested by the FBI on December 2, 1996, in Florida and charged with the Fairless Hills armed robbery. Fingerprint evidence connected Lawton to the October 1994 Palm Bay heist, and he was charged with that crime as well. Lawton is believed to have hit around 20 to 25 jewelry stores, stealing a self-estimated total of around $15–18 million worth of high-value items, including watches, diamonds, and other gems. Lawton later said he was the biggest jewel thief of the 1980s and 90s operating within the United States of America. Imprisonment Lawton was offered a three-year sentence in exchange for disclosing his accomplices but did not take the deal. He was sentenced for racketeering and robbery and spent 11 years in prison before being released in 2007. He received an additional sentence in 2002 for giving false witness. While in prison, Lawton earned a paralegal qualification and became a gang mediator. He was incarcerated in many prisons during his sentence, which included Jesup in Georgia, Riker's Island in New York, Edgefield in South Carolina, and Yazoo City in Mississippi. While recounting his prison experiences he said: "I saw inmates stabbed and friends die" and "I saw young men raped and pimped out as prostitutes for other inmates." Another time he said: "I had my arms pinned down, and I was beaten and peed on — by the guards. I was kicked. My ribs were broken. I was beaten once a month." While in prison in 2003,