A Port Arthur man has been sentenced to 18 years in federal prison for his involvement in a series of armed robberies across the Eastern District of Texas, as announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Abe McGlothin, Jr.
Jahmir Jacobi Riley, 19, was sentenced to 216 months following his guilty plea to Hobbs Act robbery and two counts of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone issued the sentence on March 31, 2025.
Court documents revealed that Riley was behind multiple convenience store robberies in Jefferson County in late 2024. On September 24, the Checkpoint gas station on Gulfway Drive in Port Arthur was robbed, where the clerk was physically assaulted. This was followed by a robbery at the Exxpress Mart gas station on Interstate-10 South in Beaumont on September 29 and another at the Hamshire Quick Mart gas station on Hwy 73 on October 3. Witnesses and surveillance footage identified Riley as the perpetrator, depicting him with a firearm that included a machinegun conversion device. The federal grand jury indicted Riley on December 4, 2024.
The sentencing falls under Operation Take Back America, a Department of Justice initiative targeting illegal immigration, cartels, and transnational criminal organizations, while protecting communities from violent crimes. This initiative draws on resources from Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood.
The investigation involved several agencies, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Beaumont Police Department, the Port Arthur Police Department, and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Quinn prosecuted the case.