Riverside man who robbed conveniences stores while wearing clown mask sentenced to more than 30 years in prison

The Riverside man who was arrested in late-2023 for a string of armed robberies while wearing a clown mask was sentenced to more than three decades in prison on Friday. 

Jesse James Swanson, 24, pleaded guilty in January to attempted murder, making criminal threats, three counts of armed robbery and a sentence-enhancing gun use allegation under a plea agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney's Office. In return, prosecutors dropped several other sentence enhancements, according to the district attorney. 

His sentence of 30 years and eight months comes after his arrest in December 2023, which was the result of a months-long investigation from Riverside Police Department detectives looking into a string of convenience store robberies where employees were held at gunpoint. 

They determined that Swanson was the suspect, who wore a clown mask and used a pistol in each robbery, was responsible for incidents at a Circle K store in the 1600 block of Main Street twice, once on Aug. 26, 2023 and again on Sept. 2, 2023, and the 7-Eleven store in the 1100 block of W. La Cadena Drive on Sept. 7, 2023. 

During one robbery, Swanson fired one shot at a person, who has still not been identified or clarified as a civilian or employee. They were not struck by gunfire. 

While investigating the matter, police also arrested Swanson's getaway driver, identified as 57-year-old Daniel William Clark. He was taken into custody in November 2023 on suspicion of conspiracy to commit a felony. He was never charged in connection with Swanson's case, however. 

The plea agreement was certified by Superior Court Judge Helios Hernandez on Friday. 

Court documents show that Swanson has prior felony convictions for receiving stolen goods, resisting arrest and attempted grand theft auto.