Ex-L.A. Sheriff’s Deputy Sentenced to Seven Years in Federal Prison for Leading $2 Million Armed Robbery of Marijuana Warehouse
LOS ANGELES – A former Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy was sentenced today to 84 months in federal prison for orchestrating and leading a $2 million armed robbery – staged as a legitimate law enforcement search – at a downtown Los Angeles warehouse where more than half a ton of marijuana and over $600,000 in cash was stolen.
Marc Antrim, 43, of South El Monte, who formerly was assigned to the LASD station in Temple City, was sentenced by United States District Judge Virginia A. Phillips, who said, “the seriousness of the crime could not be overstated.” The heist, which “sounded like a movie script,” was “tragic” for the victims and eroded “the public’s trust (in law enforcement),” the judge said.
Antrim pleaded guilty in March 2019 to a five-count information charging him with conspiracy to distribute marijuana, possession with intent to distribute marijuana, conspiracy to deprive rights under color of law, deprivation of rights under color of law, and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
During the early morning hours of October 29, 2018, Antrim and his co-conspirators dressed as armed LASD deputies and approached the warehouse in an LASD Ford Explorer. Upon arrival, Antrim flashed his LASD badge and a fake search warrant to the security guards to gain entry to the warehouse. To perpetuate the ruse that they were legitimate law enforcement officers, Antrim and two fake deputies sported LASD clothing, wore duty belts, and carried firearms. One fake deputy also visibly carried a long gun to further intimidate the guards into submission.
At the beginning of the two-hour robbery, Antrim and his co-conspirators detained the three warehouse security guards in the cage of the LASD Ford Explorer. Soon after the guards were detained, a fourth man arrived at the warehouse in a large rental truck, and all four men began loading marijuana into the truck.
When Los Angeles Police Department officers legitimately responded to a call for service at the warehouse during the robbery, Antrim falsely told the LAPD officers that he was an LASD narcotics deputy conducting a legitimate search. To facilitate the sham, Antrim handed his phone to one of the LAPD officers so that the police officer could speak to someone on the phone claiming to be Antrim’s LASD sergeant. The individual on the phone was not Antrim’s sergeant, and Antrim did not have a legitimate search warrant for the warehouse.
After LAPD officers left the warehouse, other co-conspirators arrived and the robbery continued, allowing the fake law enforcement crew to steal even more marijuana and two large safes containing over half a million dollars in cash.
At the time of the robbery, Antrim was a patrol deputy assigned to the Temple City station, but he was not on duty, was not assigned to the department’s narcotics unit, was not a detective, and would not have had a legitimate reason to search a marijuana distribution warehouse in the City of Los Angeles.
Prosecutors have secured six convictions in this case for the co-conspirators who took part in the raid alongside Antrim.
Christopher Myung Kim, 31, of Walnut, a disgruntled former warehouse employee, is serving a 14-year federal prison sentence after being found guilty by a jury for his role in planning the heist and making off with $1.5 million in stolen marijuana after the raid. Antrim testified at Kim’s trial, which the judge credited as a significant reason to reduce Antrim’s sentence.
Kevin McBride, 45, of Glendora, and Eric Rodriguez, 35, of Adelanto, are serving federal prison sentences of six and nine years, respectively, after pleading guilty to felony charges in this case. In a related case, Antrim’s other co-conspirators, Matthew James Perez, 44, of Ontario, Daniel Aguilera, 33, of Los Angeles, and Jay Colby Sanford, 43, of Pomona, are serving sentences of six years’ imprisonment, two years’ imprisonment, and five years’ probation, respectively.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration; the FBI; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. LASD’s Internal Criminal Investigations Bureau provided substantial assistance to the federal investigation.
Assistant United States Attorney Lindsey Greer Dotson of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section and Assistant United States Attorney Joseph D. Axelrad of the Violent and Organized Crime Section prosecuted this case.
