A man who shot himself at the end of a “violent high-speed pursuit” in the Inland Empire was sentenced to 26 years in federal prison, the United States Department of Justice said Monday.
Samuel Sven Smith, a 28-year-old from Phoenix, will also have to pay nearly $8,900 in restitution, the DOJ said in a news release.
Smith pleaded guilty in May 2023 to two counts of interference with commerce by robbery and two counts of brandishing and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence in connection with the spree of robberies.
From July 31, 2022, to Aug. 20, 2022, Smith armed himself with a gun and robbed stores like Big Lots and PetSmart in Riverside , Signal Hill , Orange , San Bernardino , Fontana , Pico Rivera , Redlands , Rancho Cucamonga and Phoenix .
Man charged with robbing 10 stores in L.A. area, Arizona
The final robbery was in Rancho Cucamonga on Aug. 20, when Smith left a PetSmart with $400 only to be “met by law enforcement, which included federal officers,” the DOJ release said.