LOS ANGELES (KNX) — Two South Los Angeles gang members were each sentenced to 12 years in prison Monday for committing an armed robbery of a $500,000 wristwatch and a shooting that left one person wounded at a Beverly Hills restaurant.
Malik Lamont Powell, 21, and 18-year-old Khai McGhee were sentenced by U.S. District Judge John F. Walter, who called the crime “outrageous and unacceptable.”
“These types of robberies, which are becoming more and more prevalent in our community, have to stop,” Walter said.
The defendants pleaded guilty in September 2021 to three felony counts: Conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, interference with commerce by robbery, and using and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.
A third defendant, 41-year-old Marquise Anthony Gardon, pleaded guilty in September 2021 to interference with commerce by robbery, and using and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. Gardon will be sentenced at the end of the month by Walter.
The three defendants, who prosecutors say are documented members of the Rollin’ 30s Crips street gang, drove to Beverly Hills on March 4, 2021, to scout victims to rob.
The men decided to target a man wearing a Richard Mille watch who was seated in the outdoor dining section of II Pastaio restaurant.
During the robbery, the victim was held at gunpoint. A struggle for the gun ensued, and at least two rounds were discharged from the firearm, one of which struck another diner in the leg, prosecutors said.
The gun was left at the scene, but the robbers fled with the watch, which was estimated to be worth about $500,000, prosecutors added.
“[Powell] and his co-conspirators’ decision to hold a loaded firearm to [a victim’s] head is especially troubling,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. “This type of robbery where firearms are brandished, and discharged, leaves severe, lasting trauma that victims carry with them their entire lives.”
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