Woman expected to plead guilty to robbing Downey donut shop
Abigail Luckey
A San Fernando Valley woman is expected to plead guilty Thursday to federal charges for her alleged role as the getaway driver in a series of robberies of smoke shops, donut shops and convenience stores in Los Angeles and Orange counties two years ago.
Abigail Luckey, 50, of North Hollywood, has agreed to enter a plea to two counts of interference with commerce by robbery -- known as a Hobbs Act offense.
Co-defendant Antonio Bland, 36, of North Hollywood, previously pleaded guilty to his role in the case and is set for sentencing on Feb. 26 in Los Angeles federal court. A third defendant, Ronnie Tucker, 23, of Long Beach, is awaiting trial.
Prosecutors say a dozen businesses were targeted in January and February of 2024: a smoke shop in Tustin, nine 7-Eleven stores in North Hollywood, Burbank, Torrance, Van Nuys, Long Beach, Glendale, Pasadena, and donut shops in Los Angeles and Downey.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the robberies typically occurred late at night and usually involved two men who entered each business wearing hooded sweatshirts and face masks. In several of the robberies, Luckey allegedly waited outside for the subjects to complete the robbery and fled the scene in a white four-door sedan when the suspected robbers returned to the vehicle.
The spree ended after Bland, along with two others, committed an attempted armed robbery of a Downey donut shop during the early morning hours of Valentine's Day 2024, the affidavit states.
Once the subjects entered the donut shop, one yelled, "Open the cash register!" An employee noticed that a suspect believed to be Bland had what appeared to be a handgun tucked into his front waistband with the handle visible. Fearing the assailants were going to harm him, the employee ran toward the rear kitchen area from behind the main sales counter.
The suspected robbers jumped the counter in pursuit of him. The employee retrieved his own firearm to defend himself. To deter the suspects from attacking him, he fired at least one shot, hitting a wall of the building.
After the employee fired, the would-be robbers ran out of the store, prosecutors said.
Law enforcement personnel state they witnessed the attempted robbery and, shortly afterward, pulled over a car containing Luckey, Bland and Tucker, and later retrieved a firearm from the vehicle.