A sentencing hearing Friday was postponed for a South Los Angeles man who ran the so-called “Chesapeake Bandits” armed robbery crew that stuck up an armored truck on Valentine’s Day in 2022, a heist in which more than $166,000 in cash and checks were stolen and the driver held at gunpoint.
Deneyvous Hobson, 39, of the West Adams neighborhood of Los Angeles, was found guilty in November 2024 of one count each of conspiracy, interference with commerce by robbery (known as a Hobbs Act crime), using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Evidence showed that Hobson and his half-brother — co-defendant James Russell Davis, 37, also of West Adams — robbed the armored truck by ambushing the driver after the driver had finished servicing an ATM at the Wescom Credit Union in Hawthorne. During the heist, one of the men fired an 9mm semi-automatic handgun he was carrying, prosecutors said.
The next day, Hobson attempted to sell the handgun, stating that the weapon was “not all the way bad, it was just shot doing a get down,” according to documents filed in Los Angeles federal court.
Hobson was not permitted to possess the firearm or ammunition because his criminal history includes felony convictions in 2003 in Los Angeles Superior Court for robbery and assault with a deadly weapon.
He faces up to life in federal prison when his sentencing hearing is rescheduled.
Davis pleaded guilty in February 2024 to one count of Hobbs Act robbery and one count of discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. The judge sentenced Davis to nearly 14 years in federal prison and ordered him to pay $166,640 in restitution to Sectran Security Services, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Detectives dubbed the crew the “Chesapeake Bandits” because investigators believe they planned their heists at a home on Chesapeake Avenue in the West Adams neighborhood. Two other suspected members of the crew are dead, authorities said.