California Gangster Sentenced to 55 Years for $6M Jewelry Heists

SANTA ANA, California – The mastermind behind a string of brazen jewelry store robberies that netted thieves $6 million in high-end watches has been sentenced to 55 years in federal prison.

Keith Marvel Walton, 47, a senior member of the Inglewood Family Gangster Bloods, orchestrated the daylight smash-and-grab robberies in Southern California shopping malls, leaving a trail of terrorized victims in his wake.

During the sentencing hearing, Judge Cormac J. Carney described the robberies as ‘planned, organized and led’ by Walton, saying they ‘terrified people and traumatized them for the rest of their lives.’

Prosecutors dubbed Walton ‘the most dangerous, prolific, and incorrigible criminal who has ever appeared before the Court for sentencing.’ His extensive criminal record includes a 1995 federal conviction for participating in a Hobbs Act robbery of a Texas drug store and using a firearm.

Walton was convicted of conspiring to violate the Hobbs Act by planning the jewelry store robberies, as well as participating in three of the robberies, two of which involved firearms. He was also convicted as a convicted felon in possession of firearms and ammunition.

Prosecutors have secured convictions against 19 defendants involved in the smash-and-grab robberies, with eight more awaiting sentencing, including Robert Wesley Johnson, Evan Scott, and Jameson Laforest.

Last week, Stanley Ford, 49, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for participating in five of the robberies. The conspiracy, which targeted stores with expensive watches, stole approximately $6 million worth of jewelry.