A man who led a crew that committed at least 15 armed robberies of Inland Empire AutoZone stores, sometimes using an AR-15-style rifle, was sentenced Monday to nine years in federal prison, official said.
Daeon Raishawn Cox, 22, of Moreno Valley, pleaded guilty in July 2019 to one count of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, and one count of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California.
From Sept. 5, 2018, until Dec. 13, 2018, when he was arrested following a high-speed pursuit, Cox and his co-conspirators robbed at least 15 AutoZone stores at gunpoint, making off with more than $11,000 in cash, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
In several of the robberies, either Cox or a co-conspirator would brandish or point a gun at the AutoZone employees in order to gain compliance, officials said. The firearms included at least two handguns, and in some instances, an AR-15-style rifle.
Cox directly participated in at least eight of the armed robberies, plus one additional attempted robbery, officials said.
One of Cox’s co-defendants, 26-year-old Dashon Raymond White of Moreno Valley, pleaded guilty in July 2019 to one count of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 15, 2021.
Cox, White, and a third co-defendant, 20-year-old Jada Shardae Allen of Perris, were caught after they tried to use an AR-15-style rifle to rob an AutoZone in Fontana on Dec. 12, 2018. They were stopped by Fontana police, who had been conducting surveillance at an AutoZone store after learning about the string of robberies in the Inland Empire, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.
The three led police on a pursuit on Interstate 15 and threw a rifle out of the car. The chase ended when they crashed and tried to run away.
Cox was found hiding in a garbage can and all three of them were eventually apprehended. Officers recovered the firearm on the side of the freeway.
Allen’s trial is scheduled for Jan. 26, 2021.