San Jose Massage Parlors: Robbery leader sentenced to 22 years
The leader of a gang of robbers that targeted Bay Area small businesses and customers during a monthlong spree was sentenced today to more than 22 years in federal prison.
Kao Saeturn, 29, of Richmond, described by federal prosecutors as “an ultra-violent leader of an armed robbery crew and a lifelong criminal,” was ordered by U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken in Oakland to spend 272 months behind bars for masterminding a string of robberies to help supply a methamphetamine habit.
During the robberies from December 2007 and January 2008, Saeturn and his crew of robbers held up massage parlors in San Rafael and El Cerrito, a karaoke bar in Hayward and tried to carjack a retired female San Francisco sheriff’s deputy. “Saeturn brandished a gun, threatened the lives of his victims and terrorized innocent people,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Garth Hire wrote in court papers in which he sought a sentence of more than 28 years.