A Huntington Park man was sentenced Monday to 21 years in prison for carrying out a series of armed robberies or attempted robberies at Trader Joe’s markets across Southland – two of which involved his son as a driver leak.

Gregory Johnson, 44, pleaded guilty in May to a federal count of obstructing trade by robbery and brandishing a firearm for a violent felony, according to the US attorney’s office .

Johnson admitted that during a three-month crime spree from August 2020, he committed armed robberies at Trader Joe’s grocery stores in Eagle Rock, Sherman Oaks, Chatsworth, Glendale, Pasadena, Monrovia , San Dimas, Culver City, Manhattan Beach, Rancho Palos Verdes, Cerritos, Brea, Santa Ana, Agoura Hills, Tustin and Irvine.

After robbing the Rancho Palos Verdes and Brea markets, Johnson returned weeks later to rob them again. He also attempted to rob Trader Joe’s premises in Simi Valley and Corona.

The cases covered five counties in southern California. Eric Leonard is reporting for the NBC4 News on Thursday, December 10, 2020.

Prosecutors wrote that Johnson used a gun to control and instill fear in store employees and customers, leaving the victims with lasting emotional trauma. The accused’s “serious and violent criminal history” includes an armed robbery conviction in 2000 for theft from a Trader Joe’s store, carrying a 12-year sentence, according to the sentencing memorandum.

He was on probation in several other cases when he committed the Trader Joe’s robbery.

Johnson and his 21-year-old son Gregory E. Johnson were arrested in the Chino Hills robbery on December 4, 2020, after a witness gave authorities a description of their getaway vehicle and license plate. ‘registration.

Young Johnson admitted to driving the getaway car during the Chino Hills and Chatsworth heists, and was sentenced last month in Los Angeles federal court to two years in prison.

Prosecutors sometimes choose to bring such cases to federal court rather than state court, which can result in longer prison terms.