Lancaster Man Convicted in Inglewood Weed Deal Murder Faces Life at Sentencing

A 23-year-old Lancaster man is set to learn his fate next week for gunning down a marijuana dealer during a robbery scheme that began with a fake deal arranged over social media in Inglewood five years ago. Leandrew Raglin was found guilty of four federal felony counts, including murder resulting from firearm use during a crime of violence, after an eight-day trial in downtown Los Angeles.

According to MyNewsLA.com, the plot began on March 15, 2021, when Raglin, getaway driver Mateo Paul, and a third accomplice, Iysis Elanore Smith, agreed to rob the dealer at gunpoint after luring him to a meeting through social media, according to trial evidence. Paul, now 24 and living in Long Beach, and Raglin parked behind the victim's vehicle, federal prosecutors said, before Raglin got out of the car Paul was driving and approached the dealer's vehicle from outside.

How the Ambush Unfolded

Smith, a 24-year-old Inglewood resident, approached the victim's vehicle first, according to the seed reporting. Raglin then opened fire at the passenger side of the car, repeatedly wounding the person seated there, before walking around to the driver's side and fatally shooting the marijuana dealer who was behind the wheel. The passenger survived multiple gunshot wounds, while the driver died from his injuries, according to the Long Beach Post.

Federal court filings cited by the same outlet indicate that after Raglin shot both victims and collected the dropped marijuana, all three defendants fled the scene. The next day, they divided the stolen marijuana among themselves and smoked part of it, per those filings.

A Federal Case Years in the Making

Paul was charged in Los Angeles federal court alongside his two co-defendants in 2023, two years after the shooting. He pleaded guilty in February 2025 to federal counts of interference with commerce by robbery and brandishing and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. Federal prosecutors specified that Paul served strictly as the getaway driver, remaining in the vehicle while Raglin approached the victims and carried out the fatal shooting, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice. By pleading guilty, Paul faced a statutory maximum penalty of life in federal prison.

Smith also entered a guilty plea to federal felony robbery charges, resolving her legal status alongside Paul's, the Justice Department confirmed. She had fled after the shooting and remained a fugitive for three months before federal agents and local police apprehended her in Lynwood in September 2023, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. All three defendants were ultimately arrested in late 2023 following joint local and federal investigative efforts.

Why a Local Robbery Landed in Federal Court

The prosecution stemmed from a joint investigation by the FBI's Violent Gangs Task Force and detectives from the Inglewood Police Department, highlighting the inter-agency cooperation that brought Hobbs Act charges against all three defendants. Local armed robberies typically fall under California state law, but the Hobbs Act gives federal prosecutors jurisdiction whenever a robbery is found to affect interstate commerce.

Under the U.S. Supreme Court's 2016 ruling in Taylor v. United States, robbing an illicit drug dealer automatically satisfies that interstate commerce requirement, since drug markets are treated as inherently interstate in nature. Hoodline recently detailed a similar case involving a Houston couple indicted on federal charges after a robbery targeting a marijuana seller, illustrating how the same precedent has reached beyond California.

Sentencing Set for Next Week

United States District Judge Fernando L. Aenlle-Rocha presided over the federal proceedings, including Raglin's trial, and is scheduled to sentence him on September 4. Raglin faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in federal prison and up to life imprisonment following his conviction on the four felony counts.

Mateo Paul is also expected to be sentenced for his role as the getaway driver in the fatal robbery, though the seed reporting did not specify a date for his hearing. Hoodline previously covered Paul's guilty plea when he admitted his role in February 2025.