Seattle Man Gets 17 Years for Leading Armed Robbery Spree Using Juveniles

SEATTLE — A Seattle man who recruited and armed juveniles for a violent robbery spree that left a Tacoma marijuana dispensary employee dead was sentenced Friday to 17 years in federal prison, federal officials announced this week.

Michael Keylon Miller-Jimerson, 26, pleaded guilty in February to armed bank robbery, robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery. Prosecutors said he helped lead a series of armed robberies targeting marijuana dispensaries and banks throughout the Puget Sound region from December 2021 to June 2022.

“You and others went on a violent crime spree, terrorizing the community for your own personal gain,” U.S. District Judge Lauren King said during sentencing. “You used juveniles … to commit the most dangerous part of the offenses. And you didn’t stop after a man lost his life.”

King said the lengthy sentence was necessary to protect the community.

According to court records, Miller-Jimerson, Shannon Hartfield and Danesxy Ortega robbed Greenworks and Greenfire marijuana dispensaries in Seattle on Dec. 24, 2021. Miller-Jimerson served as the getaway driver during the armed takeover-style robberies.

Prosecutors said Miller-Jimerson and Hartfield later selected additional targets, recruited juveniles and acted as getaway drivers.

The group robbed Zips Dispensary in Tacoma on Jan. 21, 2022. On March 11, Miller-Jimerson supplied a firearm to a juvenile involved in robberies at Lucid Cannabis in Auburn and the West Seattle Dispensary.

On March 19, armed juveniles robbed the Bakeree dispensary in Seattle, where one of them fired a shot into the air. The group then traveled to Tacoma and robbed the World of Weed dispensary.

Miller-Jimerson waited outside as a getaway driver while a 15-year-old co-conspirator fatally shot employee Jordan Brown, 29, prosecutors said.

Miller-Jimerson later pleaded guilty in Pierce County Superior Court to second-degree murder for his role in Brown’s death and received a 15-year sentence.

The fatal shooting did not end the robbery spree.

In June 2022, Miller-Jimerson and Hartfield sent juveniles into a Chase Bank branch in Seattle in an unsuccessful robbery attempt. The group then robbed Salal Credit Union, where armed participants forced employees to open safes.

The group committed its final robbery June 17, 2022, at another Chase branch in Seattle, prosecutors said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristine Foerster wrote in a sentencing memorandum that Miller-Jimerson and Hartfield used juveniles because they believed the teenagers would be easier to control and face lighter punishment.

Miller-Jimerson knew his accomplices were armed and intended to threaten employees while demanding money, Foerster wrote.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd said Miller-Jimerson recruited juveniles in an apparent effort to shield himself from criminal responsibility.

“His actions caused terror for store clerks and bank tellers and cost one young man his life,” Floyd said.

Hartfield was convicted in May of 17 federal felonies connected to the bank robbery scheme.

Miller-Jimerson’s federal sentence will run concurrently with his 15-year state sentence. King also ordered him to serve five years of supervised release after leaving prison.

Addressing the victims, King said the robberies caused lasting emotional damage.

“Many of these individuals continue to cope with fear, anxiety and the disruption to their lives caused by the defendants,” she said. “The impact of these crimes is likely to remain with the victims for years to come.”