Detroit man sentenced to 28 years for Walgreens armed robberies

A Detroit man was sentenced this week to serve 28 years and one day in prison for robbing and attempting to rob multiple Walgreens in southeast Michigan.

Mario Keeream Jackson, 35, robbed four of the stores in Oak Park, Dearborn Heights, Royal Oak and Warren with a semi-automatic handgun between 2018 and 2019, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office Eastern District of Michigan.

Jackson crawled through store coolers to access the back of the stores with each armed robbery, according to the release.

He also held nine Walgreens employees at gunpoint during the robberies, authorities reported.

Jackson, who was on parole at the time for a prior firearm conviction, stole more than $18,000 in cash and more than 5,000 prescription opioid pills, according to investigators.

He also tried to rob a Southfield Walgreens, but employees escaped before Jackson could access the store safe.

No employees were physically harmed.

“This defendant wreaked havoc in our community for more than five months, committing a string of armed robberies against innocent victims. Keeping our communities safe from this type of violence is at the core of DOJ’s mission,” U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison said in a statement.

The case was investigated by special agents and task force officers of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Oakland County Gang and Violent Crime Task Force.

Authorities arrested Jackson in May 2019 after searching his girlfriend's Detroit home, where he was living, and finding the gun he used in the robberies.

A jury convicted him in May 2023.

Jackson's actions were influenced by deep childhood trauma that further counseling can address, his attorney, Mark Magidson, wrote in a recent sentencing memo on his behalf.

Jackson's step-father murdered his mother during his childhood, after which his aunt died while holding his hand when he was 10, Magidson wrote in the memo arguing that a 28-year sentence was sufficient to satisfy the law.

"Childhood trauma is not a legal defense to the crimes that he was found guilty of committing," Magidson wrote in the memo. "However if any of us experienced what Mr. Jackson experienced as a child, the outcomes for us would be equally poor."

Reached Friday, Magidson said Jackson maintains his not-guilty position and plans to appeal the case.

"Frankly I thought it was excessive," Magidson told The Detroit News, adding Jackson's sentence was a mandatory minimum the judge had no discretion over. "We tend to approach crime by saying we need more prison. That model really hasn't worked, has it?"