OAKLAND — A man who served as the getaway driver in a high-end robbery spree by West Oakland gang members was sentenced to six years and three months in federal prison, records show.
Garland Rabon, 30, argued in court for a five-year probation term. He was sentenced Dec. 15 by U.S. District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin, who gave Rabon time to enjoy the holiday season with his family. He won’t have to report to prison until May 2026.
The robberies occurred in 2022, reaping close to $1 million in cash, jewels and other valuables. The year was capped off by a surprise birthday party for one of the crew members in December 2022, where the defendants flaunted stolen jewelry for a video camera and talked about their newfound riches. Video of the party was later seized by prosecutors and used as evidence to argue for lengthy prison sentences.
In court, prosecutors argued that Rabon was a longtime, dedicated member of the Ghost Town gang — a violent group that has existed in West Oakland for decades — and that he committed his crimes while serving as a “youth mentor” through a program funded by the city of Oakland. The defense argued that he expressed “true remorse” and that his crimes were “mistakes caused by a lifetime of trauma and drug addiction.”
Rabon described his life in a letter to the court, listing times he lost loved ones, went through financial hardships and eventually came to have a new perspective in life.
“Throughout the year and half my case was pending, I spent more time with my kids than I ever had before, and attended drug and mental counseling for the first time in my life,” Rabon wrote. “I am a changed person and never want to return to the life I previously lived.”
The tragedies Rabon endured include the loss of his 17-year-old brother, Deshawn Rabon, who was killed when a car he was riding in collided with a funeral home in 2015. A defense sentencing memo includes a picture where Garland Rabon poses alongside Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee, holding up two certificates her earned through participation in anti-violence programs this year.
Prosecutors argued that Rabon’s role as a getaway driver “made the rapid takeover and speedy departure possible,” during one of the robberies and that he pledged his loyalty to the Ghost Town gang on Instagram with a post that said: “Til death do us apart / I’m with the gang / I took my vows.”
The robberies included a March 2022 incident where a coin store owner in San Francisco lost an estimated $300,000 and a November 2022 stickup that cost a San Pablo jeweler estimated losses of up to $500,000. There was also an August 2022 robbery, targeting an Oakland cannabis dispensary, with a business loss estimated at $100,000.
The Mercury News
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