'Bro Bandits' Sentenced For 11 King Soopers Robberies

GOLDEN, CO – Two men accused of robbing King Soopers grocery stores 11 times within six months were sentenced in Jefferson County last week, the JeffCo District Attorney's Office said.

Valentin Justin Arrastia, 37, dubbed the "hipster bandit," was sentenced to 20 years in prison for a string of robberies between July, 2017 and January, 2018. A sidekick, Kellen Thomas Hobbs, 36, was sentenced to six years for his role as getaway driver in the crime spree. Both sentences were handed down on March 8, the DA's office said.

During the duo's grocery-store robbing spree, Arrastia wore sunglasses and a rakish baseball cap and appeared to be constantly chatting on a cell phone as he handed notes to King Soopers service desk employees, police said. He asked employees to fill tote bag with money, then fled the store. Prosecutors said the duo robbed three Lakewood King Soopers locations nine different times between July, 2017 and January, 2018, escaping with amounts up to $3,000 at a time. They were also accused of robbing two stores in Arvada.

The two were arrested in a Lakewood routine traffic stop in January, 2018, and police were reportedly able to link them to the grocery stores robberies, a police press release at the time said.

Arrastia pled guilty to four counts of felony robbery, and Hobbs pleaded guilty to one count of robbery earlier this year.

Related:'Bro' Bandit and 'Hipster' Sidekick Nabbed in Grocery Robberies

Related: King Soopers Robber Strikes A Fifth Time In Lakewood

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