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The robber kept his face covered when he robbed an armored truck in Hawthorn on Valentine’s Day.
But as she bent over to stuff more than $166,000 in bills into her bag, her hoodie slipped up, exposing the star tattoo on her lower back.
That tattoo was a major focus in this month’s trial of Deneves Hobson, accused of being part of the L.A. armored car robbery ring known as the Chesapeake Bandits.
A star tattoo recorded during a 2022 robbery became a major focus in this month’s trial of Deneves Hobson, accused of being part of the L.A. armored car robbery ring known as the Chesapeake Bandits.
(Los Angeles U.S. Attorney’s Office)
Hobson, 38, was charged with conspiracy, robbery and weapons charges.
Prosecutors told the jury that the star tattoo seen on surveillance video from the 2022 robbery matched a tattoo in the same spot on Hobson’s lower back.
“The evidence of the defendant’s guilt is his tattoo,” Ast said. US attorney. Jason C. Pan told jurors at the start of his trial last week.
During the trial, both sides presented expert witnesses to talk about the tattoos. Alex Alonso, who works as a professor in the California State University system and recently taught a class on the history of street gangs, was called by the defense.
Alonso said he saw the pentagram used by various gangs in Los Angeles, including the Trouble Gangster Crips, about eight different Hoover Gangs, and two factions of the Black P. Stones. I testified.
Prosecutors called Dominic Pollio, a Los Angeles Police Department police officer in charge of gang enforcement in the Southwest District, as a rebuttal witness. He said he has interacted with hundreds of Black P. Stones members this year alone.
When asked if he had ever seen the pentagram on the waist of a gang member, Pollio said no.
Hobson’s lawyer argued that prosecutors had the wrong person in charge.
“Just because you have similar tattoos in similar places doesn’t make you a burglar,” federal public defender Michael L. Brown said in closing arguments Tuesday. “The government somehow believes that this is Cinderella just by proving that Hobson has a tattoo. She is the only person in this country who can wear a size 6 glass slipper.”
The jury seemed to think the shoes were a good fit, taking about 40 minutes to return a verdict of guilty on all counts.
A star tattoo recorded during a 2022 robbery became a major focus in this month’s trial of Deneves Hobson, accused of being part of the L.A. armored car robbery ring known as the Chesapeake Bandits.
(Los Angeles U.S. Attorney’s Office)
During the six-day trial, prosecutors said Hobson and his half-brother and co-defendant James Russell Davis, 36, ambushed a truck driver who was refilling an ATM on Monday morning and set up a sex drive. He provided evidence that he had stolen an armored security service truck.
Prosecutors said Hobson and Davis filed a complaint against Wescom Credit Union three weeks before the robbery.
Jose Guzman, an armored truck driver, testified that he was servicing an ATM on February 14, 2022, when someone approached him and put a gun to his head. He said the robbers told him that if he tried anything, “he would blow your head off.”
“I just wanted to survive,” Guzman said, testifying that the robbers took his weapon, a .40-caliber handgun.
Hobson and two co-conspirators stole approximately $166,640 in cash and checks, prosecutors said.
When the robbers returned to their car, one of them fired a 9mm handgun, prosecutors said.
Guzman said he worked at Sectran for about 11 years, but left soon after. He currently works for a cement transportation company.
“I didn’t want to take any more risks,” Guzman said. “I had a young son at home.”
Authorities believe Hobson and Davis were part of a group that targeted armored vehicles throughout Los Angeles. Investigators said the group was nicknamed the “Chesapeake Bandits” because they had carefully planned the robbery of a home on Chesapeake Avenue in the West Adams neighborhood of Los Angeles.
Law enforcement said the members pointed guns at the guards, forced them to the ground, tied them up with zip ties, stole bags of cash and fled.
Mr. Hobson faces a statutory maximum sentence of life in federal prison. He has been in federal custody since February 2023.
Davis was arrested by the FBI and pleaded guilty to robbery and gun charges in February. He was sentenced to almost 14 years in prison.
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