“Robbery Was a Team Sport”: Washington Man Convicted of Leading Violent Crew with Children as Young as 14

A Washington man accused of leading a robbery crew has been found guilty of 17 robbery and firearm-related charges. 26-year-old Shannon Hartfield from Kent was arrested in June 2022 for recruiting and managing a group of young people, who carried out robberies on his behalf.

Most of these people were juveniles, with some being as young as 14 years old. The crew wreaked havoc across the Puget Sound region by targeting marijuana dispensaries, credit unions, and banks. The crimes began in December 2021 and lasted until Hartfield’s arrest.

According to court documents, Hartfield recruited juveniles by contacting them on social media. He then provided them with firearms to commit robberies and cars to flee the crime scenes. The targets were predecided by Hartfield and his associates.

The crew initially robbed marijuana dispensaries, including Kushman’s, Lucid Cannabis, Have a Heart, Forbidden Cannabis, and West Seattle Dispensary. After an interrogation by the police, the group switched their focus to banks and credit unions.

In May and June 2022, Hartfield and his crew carried out robberies at Seattle Credit Union, Sound Credit Union, and Salal Credit Union. The spree came to an end on June 17, 2022, after Hartfield was arrested following a robbery at a Chase Bank branch.

Hartfield underwent a three-week trial, followed by three days of jury deliberation. The jury eventually found him guilty of five counts of robbery, three counts of bank robbery, one count of armed bank robbery, one count of conspiracy to commit robbery, six counts of using a firearm in a crime of violence, and one count of attempted armed bank robbery.

His sentencing is scheduled for August 25. Hartfield would be facing a minimum of 45 years in prison for his crimes. During the prosecution’s closing arguments, Assistant United States Attorney Kristine Foerster talked about how Hartfield was able to organize a crime syndicate in the Puget Sound region.

“Shannon Hartfield saw robbery as a team sport - he helped recruit the players, he directed the plays, he supplied equipment, shared in the winnings, and now he is legally responsible for the actions of his team,” Foerster said.

Meanwhile, one of Hartfield’s associates has already been sentenced to 15 years in prison. Michael Keylon Miller-Jimerson, 26, was accused of murder after he shot and killed marijuana dispensary employee Jordan Brown during one such robbery in Tacoma in March 2022.

Miller-Jimerson pleaded guilty to second-degree murder earlier this year. During his sentencing, he apologized to the victim’s family and said, “I still ask to this day, why did Jordan have to get shot and killed? That was uncalled for, and I wish that never happened.”

“That situation changed my life forever, and it’s going to impact a lot of lives as well,” Miller-Jimerson added. Another of Hartfield’s associates, Danesxy Ortega, also pleaded guilty to his role in the robberies in September last year.