Seattle man who recruited teens for dispensary and bank robbery spree sentenced to 17 years

A Seattle man who recruited a crew of teenagers to carry out a string of armed robberies at marijuana dispensaries and banks across the Puget Sound region has been sentenced to 17 years in federal prison.

Michael Keylon Miller-Jimerson, 26, pleaded guilty in February 2026 to armed bank robbery, robbery, and conspiracy to commit robbery. Prosecutors said he played a “leadership role” in a series of violent robberies between December 2021 and June 2022 — one of which turned fatal.

Dispensary worker killed during Tacoma robbery

In March of 2022, Miller-Jimerson and his crew traveled to Tacoma’s World of Weed. Miller-Jimerson waited outside as the getaway driver, and during the robbery, an employee was killed.

“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,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristine Foerster wrote to the court. “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,” Foerster continued. “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.”

FBI: Crew ‘stormed through businesses’ across Puget Sound

W. Mike Herrington, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Seattle field office, said for nearly six months, Miller-Jimerson and his armed co-conspirators “stormed through businesses around the Puget Sound region.”

“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,” Herrington stated.

Robberies spanned dispensaries and banks from Seattle to Auburn

The crime spree began on Christmas Eve 2021, when Miller-Jimerson and others robbed Greenworks and Greenfire marijuana dispensaries in Seattle.

In the months that followed, other dispensaries were hit, including Zips Dispensary in Tacoma, Lucid Cannabis in Auburn, the West Seattle Dispensary, Bakeree dispensary in Seattle, and World of Weed in Tacoma.

After the World of Weed robbery, the one where the worker was killed, authorities said the crew started robbing banks.

In June of 2022, they unsuccessfully tried to rob a Chase Bank branch in Seattle. After that, they hit the Salal Credit Union, where they forced employees at gunpoint to unlock safes.

The final robbery happened on June 17, 2022, at a Chase branch in Seattle, authorities said.

Sentence, co-conspirator conviction

Miller-Jimerson’s 17-year federal sentence will run concurrently with a 15-year sentence he received in Pierce County Superior Court.

Co-conspirator Shannon Hartfield was convicted in May 2026 of 17 federal felonies in connection with the bank robbery scheme, authorities said.

“This sentencing sends a clear message: adults who exploit juveniles to act on their behalf will be targeted for federal prosecution,” Herrington said.

Frank Lenzi is the News Director for KIRO Newsradio. Read more of his stories here.

Follow @FrankLenziKIRO