East Bay 'Ghost Town' Gangmembers Learn Fate For Armed Robbery Spree: DOJ

OAKLAND, CA — Nine members of the East Bay "Ghost Town" gang were sentenced Monday for their roles in a series of armed robberies targeting small businesses in the Bay Area, authorities said.

Demarco Barnett, 36; Jakari Jenkins, 34; Danny Garcia, 41; Garland Rabon, 30; Aramiya Burrell, 35; Lester Garnett, 34; Darrin Hutchinson, 39; Ricky Joseph, 37; and Keanna Smith-Stewart, 33, each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit robbery affecting interstate commerce. Eight of them also pleaded guilty to a varying number of other counts of robbery affecting interstate commerce based on their roles in the crime, according to the United States Department of Justice.

Federal prosecutors say the defendants robbed at least three businesses over the span of nine months in 2022.

Jenkins, Barnett, and Joseph robbed a coin and stamp store on the tenth floor of a building in San Francisco's SoMa neighborhood, according to the Department of Justice. There, they zip-tied the business owner and his son before taking off with cash, jewelry and coins, authorities said.

Jenkins, Barnett, Rabon, Garcia, and Hutchinson next targeted a San Pablo jewelry store on Nov. 12. At least three of the defendants entered the store showing off their guns while two others waited outside in getaway cars, according to the Department of Justice.

Jenkins, Barnett, Rabon, Burrell, Garnett, and Garcia then robbed a marijuana business in Oakland on Christmas Eve 2022. At some point, one of the defendants used a gun to hit an employee on the head, prosecutors said.

The defendants made off that day with the employee's debit card and a bag of marijuana plant trimmings, federal prosecutors said.

Each defendant received the following sentencing: