Makai Yusef Sanders, Armed Robbery, California 2023
LA County Man Sentenced to 25 Years for Leading Armed Robbery Ring
LOS ANGELES - A South Bay man was sentenced today to 300 months in federal prison for leading a ring that committed 12 armed robberies of Los Angeles County businesses during a six-week crime spree in 2023.
Makai Yusef Sanders, 23, a.k.a. 'Muk Muk,' of Hawthorne, was sentenced by United States District Judge R. Gary Klausner, who also ordered him to pay $48,490 in restitution.
Sanders pleaded guilty in November 2024 to one count of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, one count of interference with commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act), and one count of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
Between August and September 2023, Sanders 'personally victimized countless employees and customers in armed robberies of nine pharmacies and two restaurants,' prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum, noting that during one robbery Sanders '[held] a victim by the neck and [dragged] him around the store, while brandishing a handgun in his other hand.'
The targeted businesses included Rite Aid stores in Long Beach, Bellflower, North Hollywood, Whittier, and South Los Angeles, and Walgreens stores in Pasadena, Lakewood, Monterey Park, and Glendale. Sanders and his co-conspirators also targeted Wingstop restaurants in Lynwood and Whittier.
The ring's co-leader, Kenyatta Kamar Jones, 23, a.k.a. 'Yatta,' of Hawthorne, was sentenced on April 28 to 25 years in federal prison and ordered to pay $48,490 in restitution.
Co-defendants Diavion Deshawna Mouton, 23, of Carson, and Rodney Darrin Maxwell Evans, 23, of South Los Angeles, are scheduled to be sentenced on June 9. In December 2024, Mouton and Evans were each found guilty by a jury of one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, two counts of Hobbs Act robbery, and two counts of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
Co-defendant Adrian Timothy Bedran, 24, of Rosemead, pleaded guilty on September 9 to one count of Hobbs Act robbery. He is scheduled to be sentenced on September 8. Co-defendant DeAngel Daryl Alvarez, 23, a.k.a. 'Macc,' of the Athens area of South Los Angeles, pleaded guilty on February 24 to one count of Hobbs Act robbery and is scheduled to be sentenced on July 2.
The FBI; the Glendale Police Department; the Los Angeles Police Department; the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department; the Inglewood Police Department; the Long Beach Police Department; the Pasadena Police Department; the Monterey Park Police Department; the Whittier Police Department; and the Burbank Police Department investigated this matter.
Assistant United States Attorneys Kevin J. Butler and Jena A. MacCabe of the Violent and Organized Crime Section and Juan M. Rodriguez of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section are prosecuting this case.
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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