A Seattle man who prosecutors say recruited and armed juveniles to carry out a string of violent marijuana dispensary robberies — later shifting to banks.
A Seattle man who prosecutors say recruited and armed juveniles to carry out a string of violent marijuana dispensary robberies — later shifting to bank robberies — was sentenced to 17 years in federal prison in U.S. District Court in Seattle.
Michael Keylon Miller-Jimerson, 26, was sentenced for armed bank robbery, robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington.
Miller-Jimerson pleaded guilty in February 2026 to a leadership role in a series of violent marijuana dispensary robberies and bank robberies between December 2021 and June 2022.
In one of the marijuana shop robberies, a worker was killed when he was shot by one of the juveniles Miller-Jimerson was working with.
The release also notes Miller-Jimerson was convicted in state court of second-degree murder for his role in the shooting death at Tacoma’s World of Weed dispensary.
Sentencing Hearing
At the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Lauren King said, “You and others went on a violent crime spree, terrorizing the community for your own personal gain. You used juveniles to commit the most dangerous part of the offenses. And you didn’t stop after a man lost his life. A lengthy sentence is needed to protect the community.”
“This defendant recruited juveniles to do his dirty work, perhaps in the mistaken belief that it would insulate him from criminal responsibility – clearly it did not,” Neil Floyd said. “His actions caused terror for store clerks and bank tellers and cost one young man his life. A 17-year federal sentence is needed to protect the public and hold him accountable.”
FBI Seattle Special Agent in Charge W. Mike Herrington said the robberies spanned nearly six months and involved targeting businesses across the Puget Sound region.
“By recruiting vulnerable children, arming them, and training them to commit dangerous crimes, Miller-Jimerson and another adult co-conspirator sought to minimize their own criminal liability while they shared in the proceeds, including tens of thousands of dollars of stolen cash,” Herrington said. He said the conduct was “epitomized on March 19, 2022, when Miller-Jimerson waited in a vehicle outside as an employee of a marijuana dispensary in Tacoma, Washington lay dying, shot by a 15-year-old co-conspirator during a robbery gone wrong.”
Robbery Spree
According to records filed in the case, the robbery spree began Dec. 24, 2021, when Miller-Jimerson, Shannon Hartfield and Danesxy Ortega robbed Greenworks and Greenfire marijuana dispensaries in Seattle.
Prosecutors said Miller-Jimerson was the getaway driver for the armed, “take-over style” robberies.
Additional dispensary robberies followed, with Miller-Jimerson and Hartfield picking targets, recruiting juvenile robbers, and acting as getaway drivers, according to the release.
On Jan. 21, 2022, they robbed Zips Dispensary in Tacoma. On March 11, Miller-Jimerson provided a firearm to a juvenile for the robbery of Lucid Cannabis in Auburn and the West Seattle Dispensary.
On March 19, Miller-Jimerson had armed juveniles rob the Bakeree dispensary in Seattle, where one of the juveniles fired a shot in the air.
Prosecutors said Miller-Jimerson then traveled with the robbery crew to Tacoma, where the juveniles robbed World of Weed while he waited outside as the getaway driver.
An employee was shot and killed during that robbery.
After the shooting, prosecutors said Miller-Jimerson switched from robbing dispensaries to robbing banks.
In June 2022, Miller-Jimerson and Hartfield sent juveniles into a Seattle Chase Bank branch, but they were unsuccessful.
Prosecutors said they then went to the Salal Credit Union, brandished guns, and forced employees to unlock safes.
The final robbery in the string was June 17, 2022, at another Chase branch in Seattle.
Hartfield was convicted in May 2026 of 17 federal felonies from the bank robbery scheme, according to the release.
In a court filing seeking a 17-year sentence, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristine Foerster wrote, “Miller-Jimerson and others went on a violent crime spree, robbing multiple marijuana dispensaries and banks throughout the end of 2021 and the first half of 2022. Miller-Jimerson and Shannon Hartfield used juveniles to commit many of their crimes, finding the juveniles easy to control and believing that the juveniles would face lower penalties. During each robbery, Miller-Jimerson knew that his accomplices were armed with firearms and that they intended to use them. He knew that the juveniles and young adults he sent in to commit these robberies would brandish the guns, threatening the victims while demanding money. And even after a man lost his life during one of these robberies, Miller-Jimerson didn’t stop.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Miller-Jimerson’s federal prison time will run concurrently with the 15-year sentence he received in Pierce County Superior Court. King also imposed five years of supervised release to follow prison.
In closing the sentencing hearing, King addressed the impact on victims, saying, “The defendants not only stole marijuana and the victims’ tip money, but they also left victims with lasting emotional consequences. Many of these individuals continue to cope with fear, anxiety, and the disruption to their lives caused by the defendants. The impact of these crimes is likely to remain with the victims for years to come But I want to emphasize that it’s very meaningful to the Court that various victims have shared their experiences with the victim witness coordinator, spoke with law enforcement about the crimes, and summoned the courage necessary to testify at trial. By taking these actions, the victims have helped ensure that these kinds of crimes are prevented from happening to others, not just at the hands of the various defendants who have been prosecuted in state and federal courts for these crimes with the help of victim statements, but also in the form of deterring other would-be offenders from engaging in these types of crimes.”
