Federal prosecutors say the Valentine’s Day armored truck robbery in Hawthorne was the result of weeks of planning by a violent crew whose leader has now been sentenced to more than 25 years in federal prison.
A South Los Angeles man has been sentenced to more than 25 years in federal prison for his role in a violent armored truck robbery outside a Hawthorne credit union. The incident, which took place on St. Valentine’s Day in 2022, saw three armed men dubbed the “Chesapeake Bandits” ambushing an armored truck employee servicing ATMs at a Wescom Credit Union, forced him to the ground at gunpoint, stole his firearm, and escaped with more than $166,000 before one of the robbers fired a shot during the getaway.
Prosecutors told the court the victim will never be the same.
In a press release published last Friday, the Department of Justice announced that 39-year-old Deneyvous Jayan Hobson, the Bandits’ leader, received a 308-month prison sentence from U.S. District Judge Fernando L. Aenlle-Rocha. The court also ordered Hobson to pay $166,640 in restitution following his conviction on robbery, firearms, and conspiracy charges.
This was not Hobson’s first run-in with the law. He has felony convictions for robbery and assault with a deadly weapon dating back to 2003.
According to evidence presented at trial, Hobson and his associates spent weeks preparing for the crime before carrying it out on Valentine’s Day.
Hobson and co-defendant James Russell Davis first surveilled the credit union roughly three weeks before the robbery. During that reconnaissance, they observed a Sectran armored truck driver servicing an ATM and noted the timing of the operation. The pair returned on Valentine’s Day at approximately the same time to carry out the robbery.
As the armored truck employee (identified as J.G.) serviced the ATMs, Hobson and two additional co-conspirators approached him at gunpoint. After ordering him to the ground, they took his .40-caliber service weapon, stole more than $160,000 in cash, and fled. As the suspects returned to their vehicle, one of the co-conspirators fired a 9mm semi-automatic handgun.
The following day, Hobson attempted to sell off the 9mm handgun for $800.
Several months later, in October 2022, Hobson was found in possession of a 9mm pistol and 12 rounds of ammunition. It’s unclear if this was the same weapon used during the heist, but he was in either case violating the law as his criminal history forbade him from possessing a firearm.
“The nature, circumstances, and seriousness of the offenses cannot be understated as [Hobson] violently robbed an innocent worker, forever changing that man’s life, and nearly killing him, all for money,” said the prosecution.
Though Hobon’s sentence is a new development, Davis had previously pleaded guilty to Hobbs Act robbery and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence back in February 2024 which resulted in the same federal judge sentencing Davis to 166 months—or nearly 14 years—in prison. Davis too was ordered to pay restitution to Sectran Security Services.
Previously, ABC7 reported that “at least five others were believed to be part of the Chesapeake Bandits, but more than two years after the first robbery, most members of the crew are reportedly either behind bars or dead.”
The FBI believes that the Chesapeake Bandits stole approximately half a million dollars between February 2022 and February 2023 by “[targeting] ATMs and other businesses, including check cashing locations, and the suspects operating by overtaking the armored car driver while they service drive-thru ATMs or exit businesses,” according to Donald Alway, an assistant director of the FBI.
The Hawthorne Bandits’ robbery took place during the tenure of former Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón, whose lax-on-crime policies became a focal point of public frustration as violent crime and high-profile robberies dominated headlines across the region. Voters delivered a clear referendum in 2024 when they elected Nathan Hochman—whose campaign centered on tougher prosecution of repeat offenders and violent criminals—by a huge 20% margin.
“The effect was almost immediate. Hochman let prosecutors do their jobs, and crime fell,” the California Post’s Editorial Board wrote last month.
The case has ended with combined federal sentences exceeding 39 years for Hobson and Davis. For many residents, these lengthy sentences represent the return to tougher penalties for violent crime that voters said they wanted to see out of their District Attorney.
“We have tried radical ‘reform,’ and we have also tried common-sense ‘law and order,’” wrote the CA Post. “It’s clear which of these two approaches keeps us safe.”
