OAKLAND — The federal government contends he’s the “shot caller” of a notorious West Oakland gang, while his friends and lawyer say he’s just a guy from the area whose tattoos have been misconstrued as something more.
Either way, 34-year-old Aramiya Burrell is off to federal prison for his role aiding what prosecutors have described as a prolific, high-rolling Bay Area robbery crew that raked in close to $1 million. After pulling off several robberies targeting jewelry stores, coin collectors, and pot dispensaries, the group celebrated in style at Burrell’s 32nd birthday party, flashing stolen jewelry in a video that prosecutors later used to argue for multi-year prison terms, court records show.
Burrell was sentenced to six years and 10 months at a Nov. 17 court hearing before U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín, records show. In advance of the hearing, his lawyer filed court papers describing Burrell as a lookout for robberies, nothing more, and slammed prosecutors for the “inflammatory” accusation that Burrell was a member of the West Oakland-based Ghost Town gang.
“Aramiya is from the same community in Oakland that I’m from called Ghost Town and everyone that lives there is not in a gang,” Senior Pastor Billy Dixon of At Thy Word Christian Ministries wrote in a support letter praising Burrell for his work in anti-violence programs. “With Aramiyas’ help and influence many retaliatory shootings have been prevented.”
Prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memo that Burrell was identified as a Ghost Town gang leader by the FBI in a 2018 investigation and that he self-identified as one when he was being booked in the jail. They said he was involved in every aspect of the robbery spree, from planning and actual participation to working to sell stolen jewelry afterwards.
The group used guns, threats, and violence to “to terrorize small businesses,” prosecutors added.
The robberies included a March 2022 incident where a coin store owner in San Francisco lost an estimated $300,000, a November 2022 stickup that cost a San Pablo jeweler estimated losses of up to $500,000. There was also an August 2022 robbery, targeting an Oakland cannabis dispensary, with a business loss estimated at $100,000.
In December 2022, many of the robbers threw Burrell a surprise party. Video of the event, filed in court by prosecutors, shows Burrell being greeted as he walks through the threshold with friends. The video pans across a buffet dinner, to a woman dressed in a silky black dress twerking for the camera, as “A Million Cash Race” by Detroit rapper Babyface Ray plays.
Later, one of Burrell’s co-defendants, Jakari Jenkins, shows up on camera, wearing a diamond necklace referencing a slain Ghost Town member, eight bejeweled rings and donning a golden watch on his right hand as he and another man fan out huge swaths of $100 bills for the camera. The other man, donning a golden watch and a chain depicting an assault rifle, says they were making history.
“They ain’t never seen Ghost Town like this,” he says as Jenkins nods in approval. “We the richest generation.”
Burrell’s lawyer said a tattoo on his client’s arm that has the word’s “Ghost Town” was misconstrued by authorities as evidence of gang membership, when it was actually meant to memorialize six different childhood friends of Burrell who were shot and killed in Oakland. His numerous support letters include one from Burrell’s daughter, who wrote that she understands prison is a surety but hoped Burrell’s role in their family would warrant some leniency.
“He has taught me values like respect, honesty and responsibility,” Burrell’s daughter wrote. “He tells me never to follow the wrong path and to make better choices than he did. He has always wanted me to stay safe and on the right track.”