Federal grand jury indicts suspected East Bay convenience store robbery crew

OAKLAND — A federal grand jury has indicted three alleged members of a Bay Area robbery crew that targeted convenience stores for cigarette cartons, court records show.

Lorenzo Sarmiento, 20, Ray’Mon Simon, 22, and Devaughn Sarmiento, 24, all of Oakland, were charged Wednesday with conspiracy and seven counts of robbery, each related to a separate incident of a robbery that targeted a Rite Aid, Quik Stop, 7-Eleven, or ARCO in San Leandro. The indictment notes, though, that the crew was suspected of at least 25 robberies around the East Bay.

The three defendants are still facing corresponding state charges. Their two co-defendants in the Alameda County case, Patricia Sarmiento and Arial Telez, were not included in the federal indictment.

Authorities say that the group drove around the East Bay committing robberies with a similar modus operandi; one person would brandish a firearm — or replica gun — at a clerk, while at least two others would empty cigarette cartons from the store’s shelves.

The robbery spree started in May 2022 and lasted several months with no arrests. But then, in mid-November 2022, the Alameda County Sheriff’s office made a major break in the case when members of the crew allegedly robbed three stores in Hayward, San Leandro, and unincorporated Alameda County within just a few hours of one another.

On the early morning of Nov. 17, 2022 — shortly after the third and final robbery — deputies located a 2011 Nissan Altima that the robbers had been used and chased the car into Oakland, where four suspects jumped out and began to run, authorities say. Police caught two of them, identified in court records as Simon and Patricia Sarmiento, but also found a pellet gun, cellphones, and five large bags full of cigarettes in the vehicle.

That discovery eventually led to the identification of the other three suspects, who were subsequently all charged by Alameda County prosecutors, authorities say.

The total loss from all the robberies amounted to about $30,000, according to court records.