U.S. Attorney E. Martin Estrada | U.S. Department of Justice
A woman from Carson and a man from South Los Angeles have been found guilty of participating in armed robberies targeting local businesses last year. Diavion Deshawna Mouton, 23, and Rodney Darrin Maxwell Evans, 23, were convicted by a jury for conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery under the Hobbs Act, along with two counts each of Hobbs Act robbery and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
"Violent gun crime leaves emotional scars that last for years," said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. "Through the Operation Safe Cities initiative, my office is partnering with local law enforcement to prosecute more and more cases that hold accountable those who choose to harm our communities."
Evidence presented during the four-day trial showed Evans was involved in two armed robberies on August 14, 2023, at Rite Aid stores in Bellflower and Vermont Square. Multiple firearms were used during these incidents as employees were forced to open safes. The total stolen amounted to $12,410.
Mouton served as the getaway driver for two robberies on September 19, 2023, at a Walgreens store in Glendale and a Wingstop restaurant in Lynwood. In these crimes, ringleaders Makai Yusef Sanders and Kenyatta Kamar Jones brandished firearms while stealing $1,776.
During the Walgreens incident, Sanders and Jones robbed a customer at gunpoint and stole an iPhone. A store employee was threatened with a handgun to access the safe but managed to lock herself inside an office and call 911 when one of the robbers became distracted.
The suspects fled in a white Honda Civic booked through a peer-to-peer carsharing service driven by Mouton. Law enforcement tracked down Sanders, Jones, and Mouton using phone records and GPS data. They were arrested on September 26, 2023.
United States District Judge R. Gary Klausner has scheduled sentencing for March 31, 2025. Evans and Mouton face mandatory minimum sentences of fourteen years in federal prison with possible life imprisonment.
Sanders and Jones pleaded guilty on November 26 to charges including conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery. Both face mandatory minimum sentences of seven years with potential life imprisonment; they have agreed to serve 25 years each.
Adrian Timothy Bedran pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of Hobbs Act robbery; he is free on bond awaiting sentencing next month. Co-defendants DeAngel Daryl Alvarez remains at large while Kevin Antwon Gadley is held on unrelated charges.
Operation Safe Cities focuses on prosecuting key drivers behind violent crime across regions plagued by illicit gun use or organized robbery crews causing significant losses among retail establishments.
The investigation involved multiple agencies including FBI; police departments from Glendale; Los Angeles; Long Beach; Pasadena; Monterey Park; Whittier; Burbank as well as Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department among others assisting throughout proceedings led by Assistant United States Attorneys Kevin J Butler & Jena A MacCabe within Violent & Organized Crime Section alongside Juan M Rodriguez representing Public Corruption/Civil Rights Section prosecutions efforts related case handling overall matters concerned therein stated contextually hereinabove reported correspondingly thereof concluded accordingly thereto thus far noted regarding aforementioned particulars specified detailed hereinbefore discussed elaborately explicitly furthered likewise referenced conclusively finalized accordingly ultimately hereinbelow delineated conclusive synopsis summary account articulated reportage document content outlined previously above rendered succinctly precisely accurately coherently 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