Former Marijuana Warehouse Employee Convicted of Planning $2 Million Armed Heist with Corrupt L.A. County Sheriff’s Deputy
LOS ANGELES – A former employee of a marijuana distribution warehouse was found guilty by a jury today of federal criminal charges that he conspired with a corrupt Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy to rob his former employer of $2 million dollars’ worth of marijuana and cash through an armed robbery staged to look like a legitimate law enforcement operation.
Christopher Myung Kim, 29, of Walnut, was found guilty of conspiracy to distribute marijuana, possession with intent to distribute marijuana, conspiracy against rights, deprivation of rights under color of law, and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
According to evidence presented at his four-day trial, at approximately 3 a.m. on October 29, 2018, LASD Deputy Marc Antrim, 42, of South El Monte, and six co-conspirators, robbed a marijuana distribution warehouse in downtown Los Angeles. Antrim, who was assigned to the LASD station in Temple City, was arrested by federal authorities for his role in the robbery and agreed to cooperate with the government. Antrim, who was dressed as an armed deputy, flashed his badge and a fake search warrant to gain access to the warehouse and detain the warehouse’s security guards in a cage in the back of an LASD Ford Explorer.
Days before the robbery, Kim had supplied Antrim with inside information about the robbery, including key details about the warehouse’s layout, operation and security. Kim also gave Antrim the warehouse’s blueprints, noting where security guards likely would be stationed and which rooms Antrim and their co-conspirators should “hit” to ensure that the most valuable items were stolen.
During the two-hour robbery, Antrim and the fake law enforcement team absconded with more than 1,200 pounds of marijuana, two large commercial safes containing more than $600,000 in cash and money orders, and other items of value from the warehouse.
Hours after the robbery, Antrim drove a rental truck to a storage facility in Walnut, where Kim had rented a storage unit the day of the robbery. Antrim and co-conspirator Kevin McBride, 44, of Glendora, delivered $1.5 million dollars’ worth of stolen marijuana and marijuana products to Kim to resell for profit. The next day, Kim and others unloaded the stolen marijuana from the storage unit into Kim’s white Lexus RX, a Subaru SUV, and a U-Haul moving truck.
Kim had worked at the warehouse for years, but a dispute with its owners left him “bitterly disgruntled,” according to court documents. Evidence admitted at trial, including Kim’s social media communications, showed that Kim left his job just weeks before the robbery and conspired with Antrim to orchestrate the raid both for profit and to get revenge against his own bosses.
Antrim, who was arrested on November 8, 2018 on a federal criminal complaint, pleaded guilty on March 4 to multiple felonies in connection with the armed robbery. His sentencing is scheduled for March 16. Five other defendants, including McBride, also have pleaded guilty for their involvement in the robbery and will be sentenced early next year.
United States District Judge Virginia A. Phillips scheduled a February 10 sentencing hearing, at which time Kim will face a statutory maximum sentence of life in federal prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of 12 years in prison.
The jury acquitted Kim of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
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.
This matter is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Lindsey Greer Dotson of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section and Joseph D. Axelrad of the Violent and Organized Crime Section.
