LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A South Bay man was sentenced Monday to 25 years behind bars for committing a series of armed robberies of chain pharmacy stores two years ago.

Makai Sanders, 23, of Hawthorne was also ordered to pay $48,490 in restitution to stores victimized in the 12 robberies, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The defendant pleaded guilty in November 2024 to federal counts of conspiracy, Hobbs Act robbery -- robbery affecting interstate commerce -- and brandishing a firearm in relation to a crime of violence.

The robberies of Rite Aid and Walgreens stores in Long Beach, Bellflower, South Los Angeles, Pasadena, Whittier, Lakewood, Monterey Park, Burbank and Glendale took place between August and September of 2023.

Prosecutors said Sanders and co-defendant Kenyatta Jones, 23, would enter the stores about an hour before closing, armed with handguns and stealing victims' cell phones. The pair then went to the stores' staffing offices and took money from store safes, prosecutors said.

During a Walgreens holdup, Sanders and Jones robbed a customer who was at a register attempting to purchase some items, held the victim at gunpoint and stole the victim's iPhone, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. A store employee had a handgun pressed to her back and was forced toward the safe, with the barrel used to push her along more quickly, prosecutors said.

Fearing for her life, the employee began walking to the back of the store where the safe was located. Once at the back of the store, the employee noticed the robber was distracted talking to his crime partner, prosecutors said. The employee then locked herself inside the store's staffing office and called 911, court papers show.

In addition to cash, Sanders and Jones stole four iPhones belonging to victims at the Walgreens store. They then exited the store and drove off in a white Honda Civic, which law enforcement later discovered had been booked via a peer-to-peer carsharing company, prosecutors said.

Using phone records and GPS data, law enforcement tracked the defendants down and arrested Sanders, Jones and a third person on Sept. 26, 2023, prosecutors said. At the time of their arrests, Jones and Sanders possessed handguns consistent with the firearms used in the Walgreens robbery, court papers show. Law enforcement also found clothing -- including a black mask with a red logo -- consistent with what one of the thieves wore during the robbery, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Jones pleaded guilty to the same charges as Sanders, and was sentenced last week in Los Angeles federal court to 25 years in prison.

Fork Report