South Bay Man Behind Series Of Harrowing Pharmacy Robberies Sentenced

HAWTHORNE, CA — A South Bay man was sentenced Monday to 25 years in federal prison for his role in a series of robberies across Los Angeles County, according to the United States Attorney's Office.

As part of a plea deal with federal prosecutors, Hawthorne resident Makai Yusef Sanders, 23, pleaded guilty in November 2024 to conspiracy to commit a robbery affecting interstate commerce, robbery interfering with interstate commerce and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of and during a crime of violence. He was also ordered by a judge to pay $48,490 in restitution, according to federal prosecutors.

"Despite his prior five-year prison sentence in 2020 for robbery with a loaded, stolen firearm, defendant continued to arm himself for all those 2023 robberies," federal prosecutors said in a sentencing memo Monday.

Federal prosecutors say Sanders committed armed robberies at nine pharmacies and two Wingstop restaurants across Los Angeles County over the course of six weeks in the summer of 2023, including a Rite Aid in Long Beach, a Walgreens in Pasadena and a Wingstop in Lynwood.

Sanders, along with co-defendant Kenyatta Jones, entered the stores, often two hours before they closed, wearing masks, federal prosecutors said. They'd then pull out their guns and demand money from employees, along with their personal belongings, according to federal prosecutors.

During one of the robberies, Sanders held an employee by the neck and dragged him around the store while holding a gun in the other hand, federal prosecutors said.

In a separate attempt on Sept. 19, 2023, Sanders and Jones entered a Walgreens in Glendale and held up an employee and pointed a gun at their midsection, according to prosecutors.

They took the employee's phone and demanded she take them to the store's safe, federal prosecutors said. The employee, fearing for her life, according to federal prosecutors, complied and led them to the store's backroom.

At some point while at the back of the store, the employee noticed Sanders and Jones were distracted, so she locked herself inside the staffing office and called 911, federal prosecutors said.

Although Sanders and Jones were able to get away with just under $800 and four iPhones, investigators soon identified them using GPS data and their social media accounts, federal prosecutors said.

They were taken into custody a week later in connection with the robberies, federal prosecutors said.

After their arrest, investigators found Sander and Jones were still in possession of the guns used in the robbery, in addition to clothing and masks that security footage caught the robbers wearing.

Jones, considered the "ring-leader," pleaded guilty last week to the same charges as Sanders and was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison.