Man arrested for allegedly robbing 31 gas stations and stores in O.C. and L.A.

SANTA ANA, California – A Los Angeles man has been arrested on a federal criminal complaint alleging he committed armed robberies at Southern California convenience stores and gas stations during a 3½-week crime spree in which he also committed two carjackings, the Justice Department announced today.

Namir Malik Ali Greene, 23, was arrested Monday and is charged with interference with commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act). At a brief court appearance this afternoon in United States District Court in Santa Ana, Greene was ordered held in federal custody until a detention hearing scheduled for Thursday.

According to the complaint filed today, Greene committed 31 robberies or attempted robberies of gas stations and convenience stores and at least two carjackings in Los Angeles and Orange counties from March 21 to April 15. During the robberies, Greene allegedly brandished a firearm at the station and store employees, threatening to shoot them if they did not retrieve money for him from the cash register.

For example, the complaint affidavit alleges, on April 4, Greene robbed eight gas station convenience stores and attempted to rob one more. During each robbery, Greene allegedly pointed a black semi-automatic handgun at the store clerk and demanded money from the cash register. On that day, Greene stole at least $2,554 from gas station stores in Hermosa Beach, Marina del Rey, Long Beach, Pico Rivera, Whittier, Montebello, Santa Monica, and Los Angeles’ Mid-City neighborhood, according to the affidavit.

In total, Greene allegedly stole at least $15,360 in cash during his robbery spree and primarily targeted stores in Los Angeles County. He also allegedly carjacked a motorist at a Fullerton gas station on March 21 and he allegedly robbed an Anaheim gas station on April 15. Approximately 90 minutes prior to the Anaheim robbery, Greene allegedly carjacked a victim in Los Angeles and used the victim’s Honda Accord as his robbery getaway car.

Two days later, law enforcement located the stolen Honda Accord in Ontario and initiated a traffic stop. Greene instead tried to escape, and a vehicle pursuit ensued, with Greene eventually losing control of the car, colliding with a curb, and disabling the vehicle, according to the affidavit. Greene allegedly fled the disabled Honda Accord on foot and was apprehended shortly afterward by law enforcement, who took him into custody.

Greene was identified from security camera footage, eyewitness testimony, his tattoos, his jewelry, and photographs in his Instagram account, according to the affidavit.

A complaint contains allegations that a defendant committed a crime. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

If convicted of the Hobbs Act robbery charge, Greene would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ Orange County Violent Crime Task Force (OCVCTF) investigated this matter, with assistance from the Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery Homicide Division and the Ontario Police Department. The OCVCTF is comprised of federal and local law enforcement agencies, including, but not limited to, the ATF, the Brea Police Department, the Santa Ana Police Department, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, and the Fullerton Police Department.

Assistant United States Attorney Jeffrey M. Chemerinsky, Chief of the Violent and Organized Crime Section, is prosecuting this case.