Carlos Adolfo Soto, Robbery, California 2017

SAN DIEGO, CA – Carlos Adolfo Soto, 41, of San Diego, will spend the next 11 years and 8 months behind bars after being sentenced today for a brazen string of robberies that terrorized San Diego County businesses in early 2017. Soto, dubbed the “pinky bandit” by investigators, was handed a 140-month prison sentence by U.S. District Judge Thomas J. Whelan, along with orders to pay restitution to his victims. The robberies targeted primarily Metro PCS stores, but also included a Subway restaurant.

The crime spree unfolded between January 25th and February 21st, 2017, with eleven businesses hit in total. Soto admitted to personally committing eight of the robberies, and to being a part of the conspiracy that orchestrated all eleven. In each incident, Soto brandished a weapon – often a pellet gun designed to resemble a real firearm, but also a machete and taser – threatening clerks and customers to hand over cash and cell phones. On one particularly chilling occasion, Soto menaced a store clerk with a machete, holding the blade during the theft.

Assisting Soto was his co-defendant, Justin Wayne Caldwell, 32, also of San Diego. Caldwell acted as the getaway driver, waiting in a vehicle to whisk Soto away after each robbery. Investigators say Caldwell wasn’t just a driver; he actively participated in at least one robbery, entering a store with Soto on February 14, 2017. There, the pair allegedly held a store clerk at gunpoint, forced him to kneel, and loaded a backpack with stolen phones before demanding access to the cash register.

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents and detectives from the San Diego Police Department and San Diego Sheriff’s Department meticulously pieced together the case. Investigators quickly noticed a pattern in the robberies – ten of the eleven targeted Metro PCS stores, utilizing similar tactics, weapons, and disguises. A key break came when a cell phone stolen during an earlier robbery was traced back to one of the suspects. Surveillance then led law enforcement to the final robbery in the series, where Soto was apprehended after a foot chase, dropping stolen merchandise in his flight. Caldwell was arrested in his car at the scene.

“These robberies were terrifying experiences for the victims, one of whom was threatened with a machete,” stated U.S. Attorney Robert Brewer. “Prosecuting violent crime is a top priority for this office. This case is an example of great detective work by the FBI and local law enforcement partners as well as diligence by prosecutor Stephen Wong.” Scott Brunner, FBI Special Agent in Charge, added that the investigation “exemplifies the dedication of the San Diego FBI to rid our communities of violent crime.”

Caldwell is scheduled to be sentenced on June 3, 2019. The final amount of restitution owed to the victims will be determined after both defendants have received their sentences. The case is listed as 17-CR-558-W in federal court records. Contact Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Wong at (619) 546-9464 for further information.

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