A Hawthorne man has been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison after leading a string of armed robberies across Los Angeles County, targeting local businesses, including pharmacies and fast-food restaurants. Makai Yusef Sanders, 23, known also as “Muk Muk,” received the sentence for his involvement in crimes that occurred during six weeks in 2023. According to a press release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office Central District of California, Sanders has been ordered to pay $48,490 in restitution.
The spree of armed robberies, which took place in August and September 2023, involved Sanders “personally victimized countless employees and customers in armed robberies of nine pharmacies and two…restaurants,” as stated in a sentencing memorandum. Notably, during one of the incidents, Sanders dramatically escalated the violence by holding a victim by the neck and dragging him around the store, while brandishing a handgun in his other hand. Sanders, who has been in federal custody since October 2023, ended up pleading guilty in November 2024 to multiple charges related to the robberies and a firearms offense.
Rite Aid and Walgreens locations in Long Beach, Bellflower, North Hollywood, Whittier, Pasadena, Lakewood, Monterey Park, and Glendale, along with Wingstop restaurants in Lynwood and Whittier, were among the businesses hit by Sanders and his co-conspirators. Other members of the ring have also faced the consequences of their actions, with Sanders' co-leader, Kenyatta Kamar Jones, commonly referred to as "Yatta," receiving an identical 25-year sentence handed down by United States District Judge R. Gary Klausner on April 28.
The FBI, alongside several local police departments, including the Glendale, Los Angeles, and Pasadena Police Departments, collaborated in the investigation leading to the arrest and sentencing of Sanders and his crew. Assistant United States Attorneys Kevin J. Butler, Jena A. MacCabe, and Juan M. Rodriguez handled the prosecution of this case, which culminates in additional sentencing for the remaining co-defendants scheduled in the coming months.
