A Los Angeles County man pleaded guilty Monday to federal charges of committing armed robberies of mostly 7-Eleven stores during a nearly two-month crime spree.
D’Angelo Spencer, 27, of South Los Angeles entered his plea to conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery and interference with commerce by robbery, known as a Hobbs Act crime, and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Sentencing was set for Aug. 25.
A 2024 indictment charges Spencer and three others — Charles Christopher, 25, of Compton; Jordan Leonard, 26, of Torrance; and Tazjar Rouse, 23, of Hollywood — with participating in the robberies.
According to prosecutors, the defendants committed the heists in the winter of 2023, mostly of 7-Eleven stores in South Los Angeles and a CVS in Hollywood. The robbery crew traveled to the targeted stores in a BMW, jumped over the counters, took money from the cash registers, and placed the money into a black Nike bag, prosecutors said.
During the robberies, one of the defendants pointed a firearm at a store employee or customer and demanded their phone or wallet, the indictment filed in L.A. federal court states.
On Nov. 28, 2023, following the robbery of a 7-Eleven store in South Los Angeles, Leonard is suspected of having posted a photograph on Instagram with stacks of cash, captioned “love my bros we go hit every time.” He also tagged the Instagram accounts of Christopher and Spencer, the indictment states.
In total, the defendants netted about $7,617 in cash from the crimes, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Rouse and Leonard pleaded guilty last month to the Hobbs Act and firearm offenses, and are set to be sentenced in June.
Christopher has agreed to plead guilty next month.
The defendants would face up to 20 years in federal prison for the Hobbs Act count and between seven years and life imprisonment on the gun charge, prosecutors noted.