Members of a West Oakland street gang were sentenced to a total of 60 years in federal prison for a series of armed robberies that targeted small businesses around the Bay Area, the U.S. Department of Justice said Monday.  

Nine associates of the Ghost Town gang — Demarco Barnett, 36, Jakari Jenkins, 34, Danny Garcia, 41, Garland Rabon, 30, Aramiya Burrell, 35, Lester Garnett, 34, Darrin Hutchinson, 39, Ricky Joseph, 37, and Keanna Smith-Stewart, 33, each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit robbery affecting interstate commerce.   

According to prosecutors, in March 2022, Jenkins, Barnett and Joseph carried out an armed robbery at a coin and stamp store in San Francisco. The men entered the store, pulled out guns and demanded money from the owner and his son. The son was hit in the head and his hands were zip-tied before the crew took off with cash, jewelry and coins.   

In November 2022, five of the co-conspirators, three of which were armed, entered a jewelry store in San Pablo and stole bags of jewelry before leaving in a getaway car being driven by two more. Jenkins and Barnett took part in this robbery, along with Rabon, Garcia and Hutchinson.  

A third heist took place in December 2022, this time at a marijuana business in Oakland. Gang members arrived just as an employee was leaving, pulled out guns and forced the person back into the building. They demanded “budded weed” and money and hit the employee in the head with a gun. They searched the man’s pockets and stole his debit card, then fled with a bag of cannabis plant trimmings. Jenkins, Barnett, Rabon, Burrell, Garnett and Garcia pleaded guilty to this robbery.  

Barnett was given the longest sentence, with 9 and half years in federal prison. Jenkins got 8 years. The rest of the sentences ranged from 4 to 7 years.  

Katy St. Clair got her start in journalism by working in the classifieds department at the East Bay Express during the height of alt weeklies, then sweet talked her way into becoming staff writer, submissions editor, and music editor. She has been a columnist in the East Bay Express, SF Weekly, and the San Francisco Examiner. Starting in 2015, she begrudgingly scaled the inverted pyramid at dailies such as the Vallejo Times-Herald, The Vacaville Reporter, and the Daily Republic. She has her own independent news site and blog that covers the delightfully dysfunctional town of Vallejo, California, where she also collaborates with the investigative team at Open Vallejo. A passionate advocate for people with developmental disabilities, she serves on both the Board of the Arc of Solano and the Arc of California. She lives in Vallejo.