Drive-Thru Restaurant Robber Sentenced

UPPER MARLBORO, MD — A 23-year-old Upper Marlboro man has been sentenced after being found guilty of robbing 11 fast food restaurants in two states.

According to the guilty plea, starting in July 2022, and continuing through August 2022, Zachary Alexander Kinnell and co-conspirator Brian Thornel Elzey, traveled through Maryland and Virginia robbing fast food restaurants.

The pair robbed 11 fast food restaurants for a total of $3,555.01.

During the robbery spree, the two men approached the restaurants’ drive-thru window as if they were picking up an order. When they pulled up to the window, Kinnell would get out of the vehicle and go up to the window on foot. Then Kinnell initiated a transaction with the employee before forcibly removing cash, court documents showed.

In August 2022, the robberies escalated to armed robberies. Aug. 1-3, 2022, Kinnell used a gun while robbing four fast-food restaurants. Then in the early morning hours of Aug. 4, 2022, Montgomery County police officers stopped a stolen Chevrolet Cruze near Wheaton. Law enforcement searched the vehicle and found a Taurus, Model G2C, 9mm caliber semi-automatic pistol in the rear passenger compartment; a restaurant cash drawer in the footwell of the front passenger seat; and another restaurant cash drawer in the trunk. Officers also seized Kinnell and Elzey’s cell phones along with $427.01. Law enforcement discovered that during the same robbery spree, Kinnell and Elzey attempted to rob six additional fast-food restaurants, court documents showed.

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis sentenced Kinnell to 10 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Kinnell was found guilty of interference with interstate commerce by robbery and using, carrying and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.