Seattle man who recruited and armed juveniles for a string of marijuana dispensary robberies sentenced to 17-years in prison
Defendant convicted in state court of second-degree murder for role in shooting death at Tacoma’s World of Weed dispensary
Seattle / Monday, September 14, 2026 – A 26-year-old Seattle man was sentenced late Friday September 11th, in U.S. District Cout in Seattle to 17 years in prison for armed bank robbery, robbery, and conspiracy to commit robbery, announced First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd. Michael Keylon 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 that Miller-Jimerson was working with. 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,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd. “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.”
“For almost six months, Miller-Jimerson and his armed co-conspirators stormed through businesses around the Puget Sound region," said W. Mike Herrington, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Seattle field office. "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. This 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. This sentencing sends a clear message: adults who exploit juveniles to act on their behalf will be targeted for federal prosecution. Together with our partners, FBI Seattle will continue to combat violent crime in its many forms.”
According to records filed in the case, On December 24, 2021, Miller-Jimerson, Shannon Hartfield, and Danesxy Ortega robbed Greenworks and Greenfire marijuana dispensaries in Seattle, Washington. Miller-Jimerson was the getaway driver for these armed, take-over style robberies. A series of other marijuana dispensary robberies followed with Miller-Jimerson and Hartfield picking targets, recruiting juvenile robbers, and acting as the getaway drivers. On January 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. One of the juveniles fired a shot in the air in that robbery. Miller-Jimerson traveled with the robbery crew to Tacoma where the juveniles robbed World of Weed. Miller-Jimerson waited outside as the getaway driver. An employee of the World of Weed was shot and killed during the robbery.
Following that shooting, Miller-Jimerson switched from robbing dispensaries to robbing banks. In June 2022, Miller-Jimerson and his coconspirator Hartfield sent juveniles into a Seattle Chase Bank branch. They were unsuccessful in robbing that bank, so they went to the Salal Credit Union, brandished guns and forced employees to unlock safes. The final robbery in the string was June 17, 2022, of a Chase branch again in Seattle.
Coconspirator Shannon Hartfield was convicted in May 2026 of 17 federal felonies from the bank robbery scheme.
In asking for a 17-year-sentence Assistant United States Attorney Kristine Foerster wrote to the court, “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.”
Miller-Jimerson’s federal time will run concurrently with the 15-year sentence he received in Pierce County Superior Court.
Judge King imposed five years of supervised release to follow prison and ended her sentencing hearing addressing the victims:
“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.”
The case was investigated by the FBI with significant assistance from Seattle Police Department, Tacoma Police Department, Tukwila Police Department, Kent Police Department, King County Sherriff’s Office, and Auburn Police Department.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United Stats Attorney’s Kristine Foerster and Amanda McDowell.
Contact
Press contact for the U.S. Attorney’s Office is Communications Director Emily Langlie at (206) 553-4110 or Emily.Langlie@usdoj.gov.
Source: U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Washington
