South Bay Trio Charged With 6-Week Armed Robbery Spree

HAWTHORNE, CA — A trio of South Bay suspects were charged with 10 armed robberies at pharmacies throughout Los Angeles over a six-week span, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

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 at 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.

The DOJ said the group stole about $776 from the cash registers at the Walgreens that night, as well as four iPhones and drove away in a white Honda Civic. Authorities later discovered that the car was booked via a peer-to-peer carsharing company.

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.

All three suspects were transferred to federal custody on Tuesday, the DOJ said. If convicted, they could each face a maximum of 20 years in federal prison for the Hobbs Act robbery count and up to a life sentence for the firearm count.