Man who targeted elderly victims gets 17 year prison sentence

District Attorney Jan Scully announced recently the Honorable Kevin McCormick sentenced 50-year-old Haywood Luster to 17 years and 4 months in prison. Last month, Luster pled to three counts of robbery with an elder victim enhancement.

In the summer of 2012, Luster robbed seven women ranging in age from 76 to 93. Luster followed the women home from two grocery stores in the Arden area. When the victims arrived home and began taking groceries into their houses, he struck them from behind and stole their purses. None of the seven victims were able to identify Luster because the attacks were a surprise and executed quickly. During the last robbery, an alert neighbor witnessed the robbery and chased Luster back to his car. After the neighbor provided a detailed description of the car, the Sacramento sheriff's robbery detail searched the area for hours and apprehended Luster in the car.

All of the victims escaped serious injuries, but many of the victims have lost their sense of security, independence and will no longer leave their homes alone. In Luster's statement to probation, he admitted targeting elderly women because he thought they were easy targets.

Deputy District Attorney Matt Chisholm states, "Thanks to the tireless work of Sacramento Sheriff's Detective Jason Lonteen and the watchful eyes of caring neighbors, this defendant is no longer wandering our streets targeting some of the most vulnerable people in our community."