Deandre Brown Gets 24 Years for Vegas Bank, Jewelry Heists

Deandre Nakita Brown, 36, of Las Vegas, is headed to federal prison for 24 years after pleading guilty to a violent spree that terrorized Valley businesses. Armed with a handgun, Brown executed a bank heist and two high-dollar jewelry store robberies—all while on federal supervised release for a prior firearms conviction.

On August 1, 2016, Brown stormed a bank on West Craig Rd, vaulting over the cashier counter and screaming, “Everyone hit the floor!” He brandished his firearm at three employees, threatened them at gunpoint, and stole $17,862. At the time, he was living at a Residential Re-entry Center, serving out the final phase of his sentence for a 2009 conviction for Brandishing a Firearm in Relation to a Crime of Violence.

Just five months later, on January 3, 2017, Brown teamed up with Aquail Harris and Brian Wright to rip off a jewelry store on N. Rainbow Blvd. The duo barged in with guns drawn, forcing employees and customers—two of them young children—to their knees. Harris disarmed the store’s security guard, and together they hauled off jewelry and watches worth over $850,000. Kendareen Hudson and Safiyyah Christopher drove the getaway cars.

Not even breaking stride, Brown struck again ten days later. On January 13, 2017, he led another armed crew—Wright, Carl Whitley, and Randy Jerousek—into a Summerlin jewelry store on W. Charleston Blvd. Brown aimed his gun at workers and ordered them to stuff garbage bags with $765,000 in luxury goods. Jerousek waited outside behind the wheel, ready to flee. Once more, Brown was on federal supervision when the crime went down.

Justice caught up with the entire crew. Co-defendants Christopher, Hudson, Jerousek, and Whitley all pleaded guilty. Brian Wright was convicted at trial and handed a 27-year sentence. Harris, like Brown, had been on federal supervised release during the heists. The pattern was clear: repeat offenders exploiting the system to fuel their crime sprees.

Brown’s criminal trail stretches back over a decade. His 2009 conviction stemmed from an armed robbery at an Albertsons grocery store. Before that, in 2005, he was convicted in a string of five bank robberies across Las Vegas. U.S. District Judge Jennifer A. Dorsey slammed the door shut with a 24-year sentence and added 3 years of supervised release. The FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force and Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department led the investigation. Prosecutors Alexandra Michael, Nadia Ahmed, and Lisa Cartier-Giroux of the U.S. Attorney’s Office secured the conviction.

RELATED: Hardin Sentenced to 2 Years