ST. GEORGE — A suspect who impersonated an FBI agent during the robbery of a St. George jewelry store will spend nearly a decade in a federal penitentiary, a sentence handed down in federal court last week.
Kevin White, 57, appeared in U.S. District Court in St. George for sentencing after he was indicted by federal prosecutors on one count of robbery under the Hobbs Act, which prohibits actual or attempted robbery or extortion that affects interstate or foreign commerce “in any way or degree,” according to the Department of Justice.
White, who has used at least 17 aliases, was on federal supervised release after serving more than 13 years in federal prison for the armed robbery of a Las Vegas jewelry store and is “an eight-time felon who has committed multiple robberies,” according to a sentencing memo filed in the Nevada case.
The defendant appeared before U.S. District Judge David Nuffer during last week’s proceedings and was sentenced to serve 100 months, or just over eight years, in federal prison and pay more than $30,000 in restitution, according to court records.
The arrest stems from an incident in St. George in September 2019 when a suspect, later identified as White, entered a family-owned jewelry store shortly after 1 p.m. wearing a straw cowboy hat, a black jacket with “FBI” on the back, and a metal FBI badge on a lanyard around his neck.
He was also carrying a black portfolio, handcuffs, a handheld radio and a handgun holstered on his right hip. He told employees that he was an FBI agent and showed them multiple FBI wanted posters, which he said were of fugitives that had been spotted in the St. George area. As he asked both employees if they recognized any of the fugitives depicted in the posters, he inquired as to whether anyone else was working in the store at the time.
As White was leaving, he stopped at one of the display cases and pulled a gun on the employees, telling them he would kill them if they hit the silent alarm. He then grabbed nearly $40,000 worth of jewelry from the case, after which he fled the store. St. George Police officers were dispatched to the scene and were told that a man entered the store wearing a fake beard while posing as a law enforcement agent.
The FBI then became involved, and in October, the portfolio the suspect was carrying and other evidence was sent to the FBI laboratory for forensic analysis. Six months later, agents were notified that a male DNA profile obtained from an area near the exterior stitching of the portfolio came back as a match to White.
The suspect was arrested within a few days and while in federal custody, he was indicted on the charge.
During Monday’s hearing, the defendant was remanded to the U.S. Marshals Service for transport to the facility. Upon his release from prison, he will be on post-prison supervision for 36 months and will be required to follow any recommendations the board of pardons sets forth, including a restriction that specifically prohibits the defendant from incurring new credit charges or opening additional lines of credit without the approval of the U.S. Probation Office.
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