A 29-year-old Long Beach man was sentenced on Wednesday to 26-and-a-half-years in federal prison for committing armed robberies at three LA County businesses in September 2023, authorities announced . The series of crimes concluded in a car chase in which the defendant hit and killed an innocent civilian with a stolen vehicle.
Kaelenn Sinaukoko Maea, 29, pleaded guilty in April 2025 to one count of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, one count of Hobbs Act robbery, and one count of possessing, using, carrying, brandishing, and discharging a short-barreled rifle in furtherance, and during and in relation to a crime of violence, according to a news release.
During a one-week period in late September 2023, Maea and his accomplices committed three armed robberies at a Downey liquor store, a Compton gas station, and a South El Monte convenience store, where they acquired about $5,050 in stolen money.
Maea discharged a short-barreled rifle inside the Downey liquor store. Inside the Compton gas station, he brandished a short-barreled rifle at an employee and blocked customers or employees inside from escaping by standing in the doorway. He again brandished a short-barreled rifle while inside the South El Monte convenience store.
On Oct. 9, 2023, Maea used a stolen Range Rover to speed away from law enforcement in a reckless manner, authorities said. It was the same vehicle he used in the second and third robberies. He later crashed the stolen car into a motorist who was killed, officials said
Still, Maea kept on trying to evade law enforcement. He hit additional vehicles and injured another motorist. He then fled on foot and hid beneath a house until he was arrested.
The three co-defendants charged in this case have also pleaedd guilty to criminal charges.
Salagi Iakopo, a 26-year-old Compton resident, pled guilty in August 2025 to one count of Hobbs Act robbery conspiracy and is scheduled for sentencing on August 19.
Twenty-seven-year-old Isaiah Villasana, of Carson, pled guilty in April 2025 to a firearms charge for holding a victim at gunpoint during the Downey liquor store robbery and is serving a 10-year sentence.
Matthew Salanoa, a 32-year-old resident of Placentia, is serving a 49-month prison sentence for his role in the Compton robbery after pleading guilty in August 2025 to one count of Hobbs Act robbery conspiracy.