Two men were sentenced Tuesday morning for the armed robbery of an off-duty Secret Service officer in Orange County during President Biden’s visit.
Jamonte Fitzgerald Johnson was convicted of robbery and possession of a firearm by a felon, and the jury also found a true sentencing enhancement for personal use of a firearm.
Co-defendant Eshon Dwayne Dodson was convicted of robbery and received a reduced sentence for possessing a firearm during the robbery.
Johnson’s sentencing is scheduled for November 22nd, and Dodson’s sentencing is scheduled for January 10th.
A third co-conspirator, Bertrand Claude Bell, pleaded guilty in August, two months after the robbery occurred. Bell was convicted of being armed during a robbery and sentenced to six years in prison. He took a plea deal.
The robbery occurred on Saturday, June 15 at approximately 9:30 p.m. in a residential neighborhood in Tustin Fields, Orange County.
It happened about an hour after President Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Hollywood celebrities gathered in downtown Los Angeles to raise millions of dollars for the president’s re-election campaign.
Tustin Police responded to a report of gunshots in the area of Stratus Lane and West Wind Drive. The investigator told police that he was driving his police-issued vehicle when a vehicle pulled up from behind him in his driveway. One of the suspects jumped out and ran up to the agent, pointing a gun at him and demanding his bag back.
When another suspect got out of the car, investigators said they fired shots at the suspect’s car because they feared they were armed. One of the suspects dropped his gun in the process.
The men then drove away, leaving the agent’s cell phone, radio, radio holster, lapel pin, flashlight, and gun magazine in a bag.
Police identified the suspect by matching DNA found on the dropped gun.
