United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California

07/23/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/23/2021 10:46

Virginia-Based Crip Gang Member Sentenced to 15-Years In Prison for Participating in Armed Home Invasion Robbery Conspiracy in Sonoma County

SAN FRANCISCO - Aaron McArthur, aka Gangster Boogie, aka 'G Boogie,' aka 'Boogie,' aka 'Suave,' was sentenced today to 15 years in prison and ordered to pay over $20,000 in restitution for his role in a conspiracy to commit armed home invasion robberies in Sonoma County, announced Acting United States Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds and FBI Special Agent in Charge Craig D. Fair. The sentence was handed down by the Honorable Edward M. Chen, U.S. District Judge.

McArthur, 31, of Virginia, pleaded guilty to the charge on April 21, 2021. According to his plea agreement, McArthur admitted that beginning in January 2018, he agreed with others to commit home invasion robberies in Northern California. The object of the robberies was to steal marijuana and the cash proceeds of marijuana sales. McArthur acknowledged that he recruited two groups of co-conspirators to travel from his home state of Virginia to meet with additional co-conspirators in Northern California where home invasion robberies would be committed. According to the plea agreement, McArthur explained to recruits how he previously had obtained marijuana and firearms from participating in Northern California home invasion robberies including how he coordinated the robberies with a contact in California, how the robberies were conducted, and how the marijuana and guns were shipped back to him in Virginia. McArthur admitted he knew it was reasonably foreseeable his co-conspirators would possess and use firearms to carry out the crimes.

The plea agreement describes how the two sets of McArthur's recruits each participated in two home invasion robberies. The first pair of robberies occurred on February 8, 2018. After recruiting four individuals and helping to organize their travel from Virginia to Northern California, McArthur's recruits were joined in California by a California-based co-conspirator. At approximately 4:22 a.m., the co-conspirators, wearing masks and carrying guns, kicked in the door of a residence in Santa Rosa and demanded money and marijuana from the residents. A co-conspirator struck one of the residents with a pistol, shot another resident in the arm, and stole several pounds of marijuana. Later the same morning, the robbers invaded a second home, shot and killed one of the residents in the house, and stole several firearms. Four of the co-conspirators were captured by law enforcement the same day and the fifth was captured about four months later.

The second pair of robberies occurred March 12, 2018. McArthur admitted that he again recruited four co-conspirators and arranged for their transportation to Northern California. McArthur assigned one individual to take the lead and maintained constant communication with the co-conspirators leading to the home invasion robberies. The first robbery occurred at 3:00 AM; the co-conspirators entered a residence in Petaluma, struck and tied up an occupant, and searched for marijuana and cash. After leaving the home, the co-conspirators entered a second home, tied up the occupant, and again demanded marijuana and cash. During the robbery, the co-conspirators encountered a neighbor who was brought inside the residence, tied up, and struck several times.

A federal grand jury indicted McArthur on June 13, 2019, charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit robbery affecting interstate commerce, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951(a); one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846; and four substantive counts of robbery and attempted robbery affecting interstate commerce, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951(a). McArthur pleaded guilty to the conspiracy count and the remaining counts were dismissed.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Chen also sentenced the defendant to a three-year period of supervised release and ordered that the defendant pay restitution of $20,275.73 to the victims of his crimes. The defendant was arrested in Virginia on August 16, 2019, and has been in continuous federal custody since his arrest; he will begin to serve his prison term immediately.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christiaan H. Highsmith is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Alice Pai. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office.

This investigation and prosecution is part of OCDETF, which identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.