Prosecutors say a trio, including a Long Beach man, committed armed robberies at smoke shops, donut shops and convenience stores during a two-week crime spree in Los Angeles and Orange counties last year.
The robbery spree allegedly began on Jan. 29, 2024, and ended on Feb. 14, 2024, with the trio targeting a smoke shop in Tustin, nine 7-Eleven stores spanning North Hollywood, Burbank, Torrance, Van Nuys, Long Beach, Glendale and Pasadena and two donut shops in Los Angeles and Downey.
Prosecutors alleged Ronnie Tucker, 23, of Long Beach, carried out the crimes along with Antonio Lamar Bland, 36, and Abigail Luckey, 49, both of North Hollywood.
The robberies typically took place late at night, prosecutors said, and involved Bland and Tucker entering the businesses wearing hooded sweatshirts and face masks.
For several of the robberies, Luckey allegedly waited outside the business to serve as a getaway driver.
During the final robbery, Bland and Tucker allegedly entered a Downey donut shop and demanded that an employee open the cash register, according to court records.
The employee instead ran to a kitchen area and grabbed his own firearm, then fired at least one shot at the robbers, prompting them to flee the store.
Law enforcement witnessed the attempted robbery and pulled over a car containing the trio a short time later, prosecutors said.
The trio were charged with one count of conspiracy to commit interference with commerce by robbery, three counts of Hobbs Act robbery, and one count of attempted Hobbs Act robbery.
Tucker and Bland were also charged with one count of Hobbs Act robbery — which prohibits robbery “affecting interstate or foreign commerce” — along with four counts of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
Additionally, Bland was charged with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and one count of being a felon in possession of ammunition.
Bland, Tucker and Luckey were being held in federal custody without bail.
If convicted of all charges, prosecutors said the trio could face a maximum of 20 years for each Hobbs Act robbery-related count.
Bland and Tucker would also face a minimum of seven years in federal prison for each count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.
“Any time someone takes a gun into a place of business to rob it, victims are traumatized and there is a potential for tragic consequences,” said Akil Davis, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Los Angeles Field Office.
The trio “put innocent lives at risk,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph McNally.
Bland, Tucker and Luckey were expected to be arraigned in the U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles in the coming weeks.
A trial was scheduled to begin on May 6.