James Russell Davis, Los Angeles man linked to 'Chesapeake Bandits' heist team, sentenced to nearly 14 years in federal prison

LOS ANGELES (CNS) — A Los Angeles man was sentenced Friday to nearly 14 years in prison for serving as a lookout during the robbery of an armored truck that netted the culprits more than $160,000 in cash and during which a handgun was stolen. been fired.

James Russell Davis, 35, of the West Adams section of Los Angeles, was sentenced to 166 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Fernando L. Aenlle-Rocha, who also ordered Davis to pay $166,640 in restitution , according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Davis pleaded guilty in February in downtown Los Angeles to one count of obstructing commerce by robbery and one count of discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. He has been in federal custody since March 2023.

The robberies were linked to a group nicknamed the Chesapeake Bandits, because investigators believe the suspects would meet and stage the heists at a home on Chesapeake Avenue in the West Adams neighborhood.

The group committed at least four armored vehicle robberies between February 2022 and February 2023, with two of the armed heists taking place in Inglewood, another in South Los Angeles and one in Hawthorne, according to the FBI.

Davis was charged along with his half-brother, Deneyvous Hobson, 37, of Los Angeles. A trial date for Hobson has not yet been set.

At least five other crew members are believed to be part of the Chesapeake Bandits, but more than two years after the first flight, most of the crew are believed to be either behind bars or dead.

The armed bandits targeted drive-thru ATMs and other businesses, including check-cashing locations. The suspects ambushed drivers when they were serving drive-thru vending machines or exiting businesses. During the robberies, the victim drivers were tied up and held at gunpoint. The suspects then entered the armored vehicles to steal the money, authorities said.

Davis admitted to being part of a group that robbed a Sectran Security Services armored car driver at Wescom Credit Union in Hawthorne on Valentine's Day 2022 after the driver finished repairing an ATM. One shot was fired during the robbery, but no one was injured, according to documents filed in Los Angeles federal court.

The group stole bags filled with approximately $166,640 in cash belonging to Sectran Security, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

“Imagine the terror of being pulled to the ground with a gun pointed at your head,” said Krysti Hawkins, acting assistant director in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles field office.

“Davis and his accomplices violently ambushed an individual who was just doing his job so they could abscond with other people’s money,” she said. “This significant sentence cannot undo the emotional and psychological damage inflicted on the victim, but we hope it sends a clear message that we will continue to pursue the most violent and persistent offenders and hold them accountable of their blatant disregard for human life and the safety of our communities.

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