SANTA ANA – A Long Beach man was sentenced to more than 22 years in prison for masterminding a string of Verizon store robberies in Southern California and Arizona.
Zachary David Wade, 42, was sentenced to 272 months in federal prison, on charges of interference of commerce by robbery, attempted interference with commerce by robbery, and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and was ordered to pay just over $360,000 in restitution.
Wade supervised a crew of robbers between 2017 and 2018, selecting which Verizon stores would get robbed, including stores in San Pedro, Long Beach and Torrance. Wade also instructed his co-conspirators on how the robbery will take place, how to enter and exit, and also provided firearms and duffel bags to use in the robberies. Each robbery took tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of electronic equipment, which was sold to a buyer in Glendale, CA. The crew netted a total of approximately $340,000 before being caught by law enforcement.
On January 31, 2018, Wade and his crew planned and robbed a Verizon store in Tuscon, Arizona, and were arrested the next day as they attempted to sell the stolen merchandise. Eight of Wade’s co-defendants pleaded guilty to the robberies, six of whom are from Long Beach.