RIVERSIDE, California
An Orange County man who was part of a crew that committed a series of armed robberies at Southern California cell phone stores has been sentenced to nine years and six months in federal prison, the Justice Department announced Thursday.
U.S. District Judge Jesus G. Bernal sentenced Anthony Wimbley, 28, of Irvine, on Monday.
Wimbley pleaded guilty in September 2020 to one count of Hobbs Act robbery and one count of using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
Wimbley’s sentencing was announced Thursday after a federal jury in Fort Worth, Texas late Wednesday convicted another member of Wimbley’s crew – Edward Eugene Robinson, 49, of Long Beach.
Robinson was convicted of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, two counts of interfering with commerce by robbery, and two counts of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.
Robinson also faces criminal charges in Wimbley’s federal case in Riverside.
According to the evidence presented at trial, on May 21, 2019, Wimbley, brandishing a handgun and accompanied by three co-conspirators, robbed an AT&T Wireless store in Fullerton, stealing $23,339 worth of electronic devices and cell phones.
During the robbery, one of the conspirators pointed a gun at an employee’s abdomen and forced her to go to the back of the store after she said she was scared, according to court documents.
Law enforcement later found the robbers in a parked car and found nearby the handgun and stolen goods.
A federal grand jury in October 2019 charged Wimbley, Robinson and four other men in an indictment that alleged a conspiracy to rob cellular phone stores in Chino, Fullerton, Long Beach, Victorville, and Beaumont.
The defendants targeted cell phones that did not contain tracking devices, and, in total, stole approximately $191,053 worth of cell phones and electronic devices, and approximately $2,434 in cash, according to the indictment.
Three other defendants in this case – Wimbley’s cousin, Robert Wimbley, 28, of Pomona; Wimbley’s brother, Darron Wimbley, 29, of Fontana; and Djovonte Lewis, 23, of Pomona – each pleaded guilty in August 2020 to one count of Hobbs Act robbery and one count of using a firearm during a violent crime.
Darron Wimbley is serving a 100-month federal prison sentence for his crimes. Lewis is expected to be sentenced on April 19.
The indictment’s lead defendant, Aaron Tremmell Hardrick, 33, of Fort Worth, Texas, also was transferred to Texas where some of the crew members committed additional robberies.
Hardrick pleaded guilty to Hobbs Act robbery and a firearms offense, admitted to committing the robberies in Southern California, and was sentenced to 45 years in federal prison.