A North Hollywood woman is expected to plead guilty today in Los Angeles federal court to charges stemming from a robbery spree that included a Pasadena 7-Eleven, according to the Source Document. The robberies occurred two years ago.
Abigail Luckey, 50, has agreed to plead to two counts of interference with commerce by robbery, a federal Hobbs Act offense. The hearing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. in Courtroom 10C at the U.S. Courthouse, 350 W. First St.
Prosecutors say Luckey acted as the getaway driver in a series of robberies targeting smoke shops, donut shops and convenience stores across Los Angeles and Orange counties in January and February 2024. A dozen businesses were targeted, including nine 7-Eleven stores in North Hollywood, Burbank, Torrance, Van Nuys, Long Beach, Glendale and Pasadena, as well as a smoke shop in Tustin and donut shops in Los Angeles and Downey.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the robberies typically occurred late at night and usually involved two men wearing hooded sweatshirts and face masks who entered each business. In several of the robberies, Luckey allegedly waited outside for the subjects to complete the robbery and fled the scene in a white four-door sedan when the suspected robbers returned to the vehicle.
The spree ended after co-defendant Antonio Bland, 36, of North Hollywood, along with two others, committed an attempted armed robbery of a Downey donut shop during the early morning hours of Valentine’s Day 2024, the affidavit states.
Once the subjects entered the donut shop, one yelled, “Open the cash register!” An employee noticed that a suspect believed to be Bland had what appeared to be a handgun tucked into his front waistband with the handle visible. Fearing the assailants were going to harm him, the employee ran toward the rear kitchen area from behind the main sales counter. The employee retrieved his own firearm to defend himself. To deter the suspects from attacking him, he fired at least one shot, hitting a wall of the building. After the employee fired, the would-be robbers ran out of the store, prosecutors said.
Law enforcement personnel state they witnessed the attempted robbery and, shortly afterward, pulled over a car containing Luckey, Bland and a third defendant, Ronnie Tucker, 23, of Long Beach, and later retrieved a firearm from the vehicle.
Bland previously pleaded guilty to his role in the case and is set for sentencing Feb. 26 in Los Angeles federal court. Tucker, 23, of Long Beach, is awaiting trial.
Get our daily Pasadena newspaper in your email box. Free.
Get all the latest Pasadena news, more than 10 fresh stories daily, 7 days a week at 7 a.m.
