South Bay Trio Pleas Not Guilty In 6-Week Armed Robbery Spree

HAWTHORNE, CA — Three suspects charged with allegedly committing 10 armed robberies throughout Los Angeles over a six-week span pleaded not guilty in court on Thursday, the U.S. Department of Justice told Patch.

The defendants are charged with Hobbs Act robbery and using and carrying a firearm during a violent crime, according to the DOJ.

According to the DOJ, the suspects committed armed robberies from Aug. 9 to Sept. 19 of Rite Aid
and Walgreens stores, sometimes assaulting and injuring their victims. Authorities said stores in Long Beach, Bellflower, South Los Angeles, Pasadena, Whittier, Lakewood, Monterey Park, Burbank and Glendale reported they were robbed.

Authorities said two of the suspects, Makai Yusef Sanders and Kenyatta Kamar Jones of Hawthorne, allegedly committed the robberies while Diavion Dewshana Mouton served as the driver.

"Sanders and Jones allegedly robbed the stores, typically one hour before closing, used handguns,
stole victims’ cellphones, then went to the stores’ staffing offices and took money from their safes," the DOJ said in a statement.

On Sept. 19, two men, who authorities believe to be Sanders and Jones, wearing black masks robbed a Walgreens store in Glendale. During the robbery, one suspect held a customer at gunpoint while the victim was at the cash register checking out and robbed them of their iPhone.

The other suspect pointed a gun at an employee's back and instructed her to take him to the store's safe, using the gun to push the employee to move faster.

"In fear for her life, the employee began walking to the back of the store where the safe was located," the DOJ said.

When the pair arrived at the back of the store, however, the suspect became distracted while talking to the other robber, leaving an opportunity for the employee to lock herself in the staffing office and call 911.

Law enforcement was able to track the trip down using phone records and GPS data and arrested them on Sept. 26. According to the DOJ, officers found guns and black masks consistent with what was used during the robbery.

If convicted, each defendant would serve 20 years in federal prison for the Hobbs Act robbery count and up to life in prison for the firearm count, the DOJ said. DOJ spokesperson Ciaran McEvoy told Patch the next scheduled trial date is Dec. 3.