HOUSTON — A serial robber is going back to prison for a long time after pleading guilty to three Houston cellphone store robberies.
Ironically, Quantez Whiteside, 25, was caught because he gave a clerk his actual cellphone number while pretending to be a customer, U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani said.
“As this spree progressed, the robber got sloppy and left his cell number, which essentially served as breadcrumbs leading investigators right to him,” Hamdani said.
On Friday, a federal judge in Houston sentenced Whiteside to 258 months in prison for the 2021 crimes that took place just months after he was released for another robbery conviction, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
- 72 months for three counts of interfering with commerce by robbery
- 168 months for two counts of using, carrying and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence
- 18 months for committing crimes while on parole for a prior robbery conviction
“Evidently, previously serving two years in federal prison was not enough to deter him from committing these crimes. With today’s sentence, he will have ample opportunity to reflect on his actions and the detrimental impact they had on the victims,
Hamdani said.
Whiteside robbed three Metro by T-Mobile stores during a three-day crime spree in 2021.
Jan. 25 on West Bellfort Road: Whiteside forced employees to the ground at gunpoint and threatened to kill them. He got away with 30 cellphones and cash.
Jan. 27 on Bissonnet: Whiteside pointed a gun at employees and ordered them to put phones in his pink backpack.
Jan. 27 on Beechnut: Just 30 minutes later, Whiteside entered another Metro by T-Mobile store on Beechnut Street and pretended he wanted to buy a phone. He gave the clerk his phone number before leaving with more stolen cellphones. That led investigators to Whiteside's home where they found the stolen cellphones, firearms and the pink backpack.
