(BCN) — Two East Bay residents face three years in state prison after they pleaded guilty to robbery charges related to a string of retail thefts in 2021 and 2022 in San Francisco.
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced Thursday that Delandro Belvine-Brown, 22, of Antioch, and Sean Raquel Jevonce Simon, Jr., 24, of Richmond, were each sentenced to three years imprisonment after pleading guilty in San Francisco Superior Court to committing robbery in violation of Penal Code Section 211, in relation to a series of retail thefts in San Francisco.
Belvine-Brown and Simon are currently in custody and will be transported to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s custody to begin serving their state prison sentences.
“These crimes demand accountability and we need to send the message to others involved in this criminal enterprise that, with the support of our local law enforcement partners, our office will continue to pursue and prosecute those involved,” said District Attorney Brooke Jenkins in a statement. “With San Francisco Police Department receiving $15.3 million dollars and our office receiving $2 million from the Organized Retail Theft Prevention Grant Program, law enforcement agencies in San Francisco will continue to identify, investigate, and prosecute all levels of this criminal enterprise.”
Prosecutors alleged that Belvine-Brown and Simon were a part of an organized group which committed a series of snatch-and-grab thefts and robberies from Sunglass Hut, LensCrafters and Veo Optics stores in San Francisco from Nov. 1, 2021, through July 1, 2022.
Belvine-Brown, Simon and others entered the targeted store as a group, rapidly grabbed numerous expensive sunglasses from display shelves, and quickly exited the store and got in a waiting car.
Investigators from SFPD and Brentwood Police Department conducted a joint investigation as there were similar thefts that occurred in Contra Costa County.
Investigators from both agencies examined evidence from multiple sources, including store surveillance videos, social media posts and mobile phone records to identify the defendants and their criminal activities.
“Individuals who openly commit egregious and brazen retail crimes impact not only the store’s viability to stay open for their community, but also have long lasting effects on store employees and customers who are subjected to this blatant disregard for the law,” said Assistant District Attorney del Rosario in a statement. “These cases should serve as notice to those would-be thieves that law enforcement will aggressively investigate and prosecute their criminal activity in San Francisco.”
The case against Belvine-Brown and Simon was successfully prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Conrad Del Rosario with support and assistance from District Attorney Inspector Lessa Vivian and Paralegal Chloe Mosqueda. This case was investigated by the San Francisco Police Department’s Burglary Unit and the Brentwood Police Department’s Investigation Division.
Copyright © 2023 Bay City News, Inc.
