San Francisco Residents Sentenced For Robbery And Assault With A Dangerous Weapon In The Presidio

SAN FRANCISCO – Tiffany Smith was sentenced today to 60 months in prison and ordered to pay $8,946 in restitution for robbery and assault with a dangerous weapon, announced United States Attorney Brian Stretch and United States Park Police Chief Robert MacLean.  Smith’s co-defendant, Daron McClinton of San Francisco, was sentenced one week ago to 63 months in prison and also ordered to pay $8,946 in restitution for the same crimes.  The sentences, imposed by the Honorable William H. Orrick, U.S. District Judge, followed guilty pleas entered by the defendants earlier this year. 

According to the plea agreements, Smith and McClinton admitted that on Saturday October 3, 2015, they were at the Palace of Fine Arts when they spotted their victim, a professional photographer, and followed him to the Presidio.  The defendants confronted the photographer after he parked his car and began unloading his equipment.  Smith pointed what appeared to be a gun at the victim and demanded the victim’s property.  When the victim did not comply, both Smith and McClinton repeatedly struck the victim in his head with dangerous weapons until he relinquished the equipment.  The defendants then fled with the property. 

The defendants were indicted by a federal grand jury on October 29, 2015.  They were charged with robbery on federal land, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2111; conspiracy to commit robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371; and assault with a dangerous weapon on federal land, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 113(a)(3).  Smith pleaded guilty to the charges on July 7, 2016, and McClinton pleaded guilty to the charges on May 5, 2016.

In addition to the prison terms and restitution, Judge Orrick sentenced Smith and McClinton each to three-year terms of supervised release.  The defendants were both immediately remanded to custody after sentencing.        

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney William J. Edelman prosecuted the case with the assistance of Patricia Mahoney.  The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the U.S. Park Police.