LOS ANGELES – A Huntington Park man was sentenced this morning to 252 months in federal prison for committing 21 armed robberies and attempted armed robberies of Trader Joe’s grocery stores throughout Southern California during a three-month crime spree.
Gregory Johnson, 44, was sentenced by United States District Judge Virginia A. Phillips for the robberies in which Johnson used a semi-automatic handgun to terrorize store employees and customers.
Johnson pleaded guilty in May 2021 to one count of interference with commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act) and one count of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. Johnson admitted he committed armed robberies of Trader Joe’s grocery stories between August 28 and December 4, 2020 in Eagle Rock, Sherman Oaks, Chatsworth, Glendale, Pasadena, Monrovia, San Dimas, Culver City, Manhattan Beach, Rancho Palos Verdes, Cerritos, Brea, Santa Ana, Agoura Hills, Tustin and Irvine. He also attempted to rob Trader Joe’s stores in Simi Valley and Corona. After Johnson robbed the stores in Rancho Palos Verdes and Brea, he returned weeks later to rob them again.
On December 4, 2020, Johnson and his son, Gregory Eric Johnson, 20, of South Los Angeles, were arrested after a witness gave law enforcement a description of the Johnsons’ getaway car and its license plate, according to court documents. After stopping the vehicle, law enforcement recovered Johnson’s gun and other items from the vehicle.
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