robbery ringleader sentenced to 22 years

Last week in Oakland, Kao Saeturn, the leader of a gang of robbers that targeted Bay Area small businesses and customers during a month-long robbery spree was sentenced to more than 22 years in federal prison: Richmond robbery leader sentenced to 22 years.

Kao Saeturn, 29, of Richmond, described by federal prosecutors as "an ultra-violent leader of an armed robbery crew and a lifelong criminal," was ordered by U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken in Oakland to spend 272 months behind bars for masterminding a string of robberies to help supply a methamphetamine habit.

During the robberies from December 2007 to January 2008, Saeturn and his crew of robbers held up massage parlors in San Rafael and El Cerrito, a karaoke bar in Hayward and tried to carjack the vehicle of a retired female San Francisco sheriff's deputy. "Saeturn brandished a gun, threatened the lives of his victims and terrorized innocent people," Assistant U.S. Attorney Garth Hire wrote in court papers.

Saeturn was arrested in February 2008 after police and California Highway Patrol officers learned that he was in the basement of a home on East 24th Street in Oakland.

This does not sound like the kind of guy you want to mess with. Four other members of the robbery crew have pleaded guilty in connection with the spree, while a fifth member was shot and killed by Berkeley police back in June. More here: Richmond parolee sentenced to 22 years in robbery spree.