Gun-Toting Cooler-Crawler Sentenced to 28 Years and 1 Day after Robbing Several Walgreens in Metro Detroit

DETROIT – A Detroit resident was sentenced to 28 years and 1 day in federal prison following his convictions for the armed robberies and attempted armed robbery of five Walgreens in Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb Counties in 2018 and 2019, United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison announced today.

Ison was joined in the announcement by Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan.

Mario Keeream Jackson, age 35, of Detroit, was convicted by a jury in May 2023 of four counts of Hobbs Act Robbery, one count of Attempt-Hobbs Act Robbery, one count of Robbery of a DEA Licensed Premises, and five firearms counts. Jackson, who at the time of the robberies was on parole with the Michigan Department of Corrections for a prior firearm conviction, used a semi-automatic handgun with an extended magazine to rob Walgreens located in Oak Park, Dearborn Heights, Royal Oak, and Warren. During the robberies, Jackson stole over $18,000 in cash and over 5000 prescription opioid pills. Jackson attempted to rob a fifth Walgreens in Southfield, but the employees were able to escape the store before Jackson could access the store safe. During all the robberies, Jackson gained access to the back area of the stores by crawling through the coolers located in the stores. In total, Jackson held nine Walgreens employees at gunpoint during the robberies. Jackson was arrested on May 2, 2019, when law enforcement executed a search warrant at Jackson’s girlfriend’s residence in Detroit where Jackson was living. During the search, agents recovered the firearm Jackson used to commit the robberies.

“This defendant wreaked havoc in our community for more than five months, committing a string of armed robberies against innocent victims. Keeping our communities safe from this type of violence is at the core of DOJ’s mission,” said U.S. Attorney Ison.

"I would like to thank the members of our Oakland County Gang and Violent Crime Task Force for their hard work and our partners for their collaborative efforts in this case,” said Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan. “This sentence serves as a warning to violent criminals and demonstrates the FBI’s and its law enforcement partners’ dedication to ensuring safer communities.”

This prosecution is a part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program. PSN is the centerpiece of the Justice Department’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through the PSN program a broad spectrum of law enforcement and community stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs to reduce violence crime and gun violence, and to make our local neighborhoods safer for everyone.

The case was investigated by special agents and task force officers of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Oakland County Gang and Violent Crime Task Force. Assisting in the investigation were special agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and officers from the Oak Park, Dearborn Heights, Southfield, Royal Oak, and Warren Police Departments.