Tony Stewart of Highland and Jerome Belser of San Bernardino will serve five years in federal prison after pleading guilty to robbing 52 phone stores with hammers between Nov. 11, 2021, and Jan. 13, 2022.
Stewart pleaded guilty to interference of commerce by robbery June 9. His plea deal found him guilty of one count of the seven counts of robbery.
The pair, along with Rayford Newsome of Compton, robbed T-Mobile and AT&T stores during business hours, with customers present.
They entered wearing ski masks and broke display cases with hammers.
They hit stores in at least 47 cities, including Colton and in Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, Kern and San Bernardino counties.
Police caught the group after a car chase Jan. 15, following the robbery of a store in Camarillo.
Stewart’s side
In a letter to the sentencing judge, Stewart apologized for the robberies, and said he began stealing from grocery stores to feed himself as a child.
“Walking home from school one day, I stopped in a grocery store, never stealing anything in my life before. I stole from the store with my friends after feeling too embarrassed to tell my friends I was really hungry and haven’t ate at home. I know my friends were doing it to look cool. Later on, starting to run out of Stater Bros with meals and leaving malls with better clothes trying to survive, is what led me to this route,” Stewart wrote.
He also said he stole to give money to his mother, who raised six children by herself after Stewart’s father died while breaking up a fight in 2000. At the time, Stewart was 1 year old. When Stewart was 6 he found a father figure in his mother’s boyfriend, but that man too died from gun violence, when Stewart was 8 years old, according to his sentencing memorandum.
Stewart’s older brother also died from gun violence the memo says. And Stewart was beaten by his brothers, to the point that he still has double vision or vomits, the memo says.
He left high school to help his mother by taking a job as a caretaker with Janet Care, but he lost the job after he resumed his classes, and showed up late to work, the memo says. He was unable to find a steady job after that. He also saw his sister’s boyfriend die from a drug overdose.
“With no set job, an idle mind, some unsavory associates, and his untreated trauma and likely PTSD from experiencing so much unexpected death, Mr. Stewart made the poor decision to commit the instant offense,” his memo says.
He said he requested educational, therapy and drug classes, and said his time in prison allowed him to realize his path was not what God had in store for him, or what his family wants for him.
Family support
His mother, girlfriend, sister and cousins wrote character letters to the judge.
“I lost a son, my kids’ father and two boyfriends to violence and neither of us had any counseling. Tony was losing friends left and right and I think it took a toll on him and he started a downward spiral. I love my son and I know if he had a chance to do things all over again and the right way he would” Jessica Vallier, Stewart’s mother, wrote to the court.
Stewart’s girlfriend of six years, Jasmine Casados, said Stewart is inherently a good person.
“Growing up he did go through a lot, and even after, but that never stopped him from being the good person he is. It’s a lot of things he could have done differently, and I feel like he’s learned from his mistakes. He has been reading and working on himself since he’s been incarcerated. He’s always telling me about books he wants me to check out and read,” Casados wrote.
His cousin, a U.S. Army instructor, said Stewart was a product of his environment, and that sentencing him to a long sentence will not address the real issue.
“It was so easy for us to get involved with the wrong group or make an unfavorable decision when there was not much to choose from. We stayed in apartment complexes that were filled with gangs and violence. Our neighborhood was typical of government assistance, teen pregnancies, murders, robberies, drugs, and other crimes,” Johnae Fox wrote.
Belser’s side
Some of Belser’s history is shared in his sentencing memorandum.
He has a newborn son with his girlfriend of four years.
His father has been incarcerated for 16 years, since Belser was 5 years old.
He received his high school diploma from Orangewood Continuation High School in Redlands, and was working toward his associates degree at Mt. San Antonio College. He worked at warehouses for various companies.
Belser requested placement in the Bureau of Prisons’ residential drug abuse program.
Caught through cell phone data
Officers were able to track the three using the GPS location data associated with their cell phones, and by placing a GPS tracker on the getaway car used during some of the robberies, according to Nicholas Williams, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives task force officer.
Their combined robberies caused approximately $240,000 in losses to T-Mobile, according to the company as cited by Williams.
Stewart will get 60 months, while Belser will get 70 months. Newsome’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for Jan. 5, 2023.
“Stewart and his co-defendants terrorized cell phone stores throughout Southern California, traumatizing employees and customers in over 50 different stores in just over two months – all for (Stewart’s) own personal gain,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. “In almost each of these…robberies, there were between two and four employees present along with multiple customers. Each employee is forced to return to these work locations, provide customer service, and attempt to earn a living a while dealing with the fear and anxiety that they may again be robbed or threatened with a dangerous weapon while at work.”
Case information
Case No. 2:22-cr-00028.
Kevin B. Reidy and Kevin Butler of the US Attorney’s Office prosecuted.
Adithya Mani of the Federal Public Defenders Office represented Stewart.
Mark Chambers of La Mirada’s Law Office of Mark A Chambers represented Belser.
California Central District Judge John Kronstadt presided.
Read the complaint here.
Read the indictment here.
Read the plea deal here.
Read Stewart’s sentencing memorandum here.
Read Stewart’s letter here.
Read Vallier’s letter here.
Read Casados’ letter here.
Read Fox’s letter here.
