Felon who robbed a Fort Oglethorpe restaurant sentenced to 11 years in prison
ROME, Ga. / Monday, February 9, 2026 - Mario Merriweather, a repeat offender with a 30-year criminal history, has been sentenced to federal prison for robbing a fast-food restaurant in Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia and forcing restaurant staff into a walk-in freezer.
“Undeterred by multiple stints in state prison, Merriweather repeatedly terrorized victims who were simply trying to go about their jobs,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg. “His most recent attack on a Burger King restaurant has resulted in a significant sentence that demonstrates that criminals who try to ‘have it their way’ by robbing citizens in this District will be held accountable and removed from the community.”
“No one should ever be terrorized physically or emotionally, like the victims in these violent armed robberies were,” said Mitchell Jackson, Special Supervisory Resident Agent of FBI Georgia’s Cartersville office. “The FBI is proud to work with our local law enforcement partners in helping to convict these repeat offenders at the federal level, where they face stiffer penalties and no opportunity for parole.”
According to U.S. Attorney Hertzberg, the charges, and other information presented in court: On October 26, 2023, Merriweather entered a Burger King restaurant just two miles south of the Tennessee-Georgia state line and brandished what appeared to be a pistol. He ordered one employee to empty the register and ordered all the employees into a walk-in freezer. One employee used his foot to stop the freezer from locking, and another employee immediately called 911.
One of the employees who escaped from the freezer was lawfully armed and chased Merriweather outside. When Merriweather turned and pointed what appeared to be a firearm at the employee, the employee fired two shots at Merriweather but did not hit him. Merriweather fled but passed out next to his vehicle. Responding officers found Merriweather flat on his back in the road near an air pistol and also recovered a Burger King bag stuffed with cash.
Merriweather has a long history of prior robberies, including convictions for robbing a Wendy’s and a Burger King in 2001, robbing two people in 2005, and robbing two banks in 2013.
Merriweather was sentenced by U.S. District Judge William M. Ray II to 11 years in federal prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Merriweather was convicted on charges of interference with interstate commerce by robbery on August 14, 2025, after he pleaded guilty.
This case was being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Calvin A. Leipold, III prosecuted the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Source: U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Georgia
