4 linked to Oakland gang face federal charges in high-end retail robberies
OAKLAND – A federal grand jury has indicted four people, alleging they conspired with an Oakland street gang to rob several high-end Bay Area retail stores.
The indictment of Jakari Jenkins, Demarco Barnett, Garland Rabon, and Keanna Smith-Stewart, filed April 18 and unsealed Friday, alleges that by March 2022, the four defendants were all members of, or had association with, an Oakland-based street gang called the Ghost Town gang.
The indictment describes a series of armed robberies and burglaries that were allegedly committed by groups of co-conspirators.
The first robbery allegedly involved Barnett and Jenkins who, along with other members of the gang, carried out the armed robbery of a coin and stamp store located on the 10th floor of a building in the South of Market neighborhood of San Francisco.
Members of the conspiracy allegedly rented a car to be used as a getaway car and stole a license plate for the getaway car and met co-conspirators at the Oakland residence of another gang member.
On March 18, 2022 -- the day of the robbery—Barnett, Jenkins, and at least two additional unnamed suspects entered the store, brandished firearms, and demanded money from the business owner and his son. The suspects allegedly struck the son in the head and zip-tied his hands before stealing cash, jewelry, and coins with an aggregate value of more than $300,000.
A second armed robbery described in the indictment occurred approximately eight months later. The suspects pretended to be customers of a jewelry store in San Pablo and left jewelry with the operators of the store. Jenkins, Barnett, Rabon, and at least four other suspects allegedly returned on Nov. 12, 2022 and stole jewelry, including the items they left earlier.
The suspects arrived in two Dodge Chargers bearing stolen license plates. Five suspects, including three brandishing firearms, entered the store while two suspects waited outside in the getaway cars.
The stolen jewelry was valued at approximately $300,000 to $500,000. The indictment describes how all four defendants in the superseding indictment later wore the stolen jewelry, shared the stolen jewelry with other Ghost Town gang members, or otherwise made use of the stolen jewelry for personal purposes.
The indictment also describes a Nov. 24, 2022, burglary of an Audi dealership in Oakland. Smith-Stewart allegedly purchased a black Audi S5 from the dealership using a fake driver's license and another person's Social Security number, days before the robbery.
After making a down payment of approximately $9,500, Jenkins, Barnett, and another unindicted co-conspirator burglarized the dealership and stole the safe containing the down payment.
The indictment also describes a Christmas Eve 2022 armed robbery of a marijuana business in Oakland. A worker was leaving the business when Jenkins, Barnett, Rabon, and Smith-Stewart, along with at least four other co-conspirators, allegedly arrived in two cars. They allegedly brandished weapons, directed the worker back into the building, and demanded "budded weed" and "money." One of the suspects allegedly struck the worker in the head with a firearm. The suspects allegedly stole the worker's bank card and a bag of marijuana. Two days later, Smith-Stewart allegedly used the victim's debit card at the Westfield mall in San Francisco to purchase more than $1,000 worth of items at Bloomingdale's and Nordstrom.
The quartet is charged with multiple crimes related to robbery and fraud and, if convicted, could face 10 to 20 years in prison and paying restitution and fines of up to $250,000.
Jenkins and Barnett are in custody and are scheduled to make their next court appearance on July 15 in Oakland. Rabon and Smith-Stewart are also still in custody and were scheduled to appear before a judge Wednesday.
