OAKLAND — They dressed in their Sunday best, donning tuxedos, skin tight dresses and velvet, with gold or diamonds around their necks and fingers. They lined up for mouthwatering buffets, bet high at the craps table and dined on a birthday cake adorned with blue frosting, sugar dice and $100 bills, all according to court records.

After all, federal prosecutors say, many of the attendees had quite a bit to celebrate. They had gathered there on Dec. 22, 2022 for the 32nd birthday of a man named Aramiya Burrell. But he and several other partygoers were allegedly part of a prolific robbery crew comprising members of Oakland’s Ghost Town Gang.

For much of 2022, the group had pulled off high-stakes, violent takeover robberies, federal prosecutors say. The Ghost Town gang has existed in a West Oakland neighborhood of the same name for decades, and rivals with other local gangs like Case and Acorn. Over the years, its members have been linked to major drug rings, murder and street robberies, authorities say. In 2022, however, the group reportedly set its sights on risky, violent heists with large payouts. More than once, victims were left hospitalized, according to court records.

The robbers had reaped the rewards — in March 2022, a coin store owner in San Francisco lost an estimated $300,000, and in November 2022, a San Pablo jeweler estimated losses of up to $500,000. In an August 2022 stickup, an Oakland cannabis dispensary had lost an estimated $100,000. Now, with the year coming to an end, it was time to celebrate.

Burrell’s 32nd birthday became a surprise party: a video from the event, filed in court, shows him being greeted with shouts as he walks with friends into the door of a recreation center. There are warm greetings and hugs, then the short film shifts from the buffet dinner, to a woman dressed in a silky black dress twerking for the camera, as “A Million Cash Race” by Detroit rapper Babyface Ray plays.

Later, a man named Jakari Jenkins shows up on camera, wearing a diamond necklace referencing a slain Ghost Town member, eight bejeweled rings and donning a golden watch on his right hand as he and another man fan out huge swaths of $100 bills for the camera. The other man, donning a golden watch and a chain depicting an assault rifle, says they were making history.

“They ain’t never seen Ghost Town like this,” he says as Jenkins nods in approval. “We the richest generation.”

Some surprises turn out less festive.

In August 2024, Bay Area federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment that had been kept a secret for months, charging nine alleged robbery crew members with conspiracy and various crimes, from violent takeovers to fraud. The defendants included both Burrell, whose case remains active, and Jenkins, who is one of four defendants to have already pleaded guilty to a federal crime and was sentenced.

Jenkins was given eight years in federal prison for robbery. He was ordered to forfeit two diamond chains that pay tribute to friends, court records show. U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín handed down Jenkins’ sentence on Aug. 4. Last week, Martínez-Olguín sentenced another defendant, Danny Garcia, to seven years behind bars.

Garcia attended the party and flashed allegedly stolen diamonds on camera, prosecutors said in court filings. Court records say he has spent 20 years in prison for various offenses, was part of two of the 2022 robberies and is a self-admitted member of the Ghost Town gang.

On Thursday, Keanna Smith-Stewart was sentenced to four years and two months in federal prison for conspiracy. Prosecutors contend that she and Burrell burglarized an East Bay Audi dealership and that she aided in the dispensary robbery by being present in a getaway car, and later using a victim’s debit card “to purchase over $1,000 of merchandise at stores in San Francisco.” Her lawyer filed a partially redacted sentencing memo, which quotes Smith-Stewart saying she deeply regrets her actions and blames alcohol abuse and low self-esteem.

“I regret what I have done and recognize the trauma my actions have caused to the victims, the community, and my family and friends,” she wrote. “I am deeply sorry for the harm I have caused everyone.”

Prosecutors have countered defendants’ apologies by describing details of the crime.

The San Francisco coin store owner told authorities he was dragged to his own safe with his son, and told they’d both be killed right then and there if he didn’t open it.

At the San Pablo jewelry store, robbers restrained two victims at gunpoint and sat on one “while an elderly female victim retreated and wailed in fear,” according to a prosecution sentencing memo. Two days after Burrell’s birthday party, on Christmas Eve 2022, the group allegedly stole bags of marijuana from an Oakland cannabis dispensary and left an employee bloodied.

Another party attendee and suspected robber, Demarco Barnett, received a 9 1/2 year prison term in June, court records show. The remaining defendants include Garland Rabon, Burrell, Lester Garnett, Darrin Hutchinson and Ricky Joseph.

Jenkins’ lawyer described him in court records as the product of “severe abuse and neglect” during childhood, but said he is “not the same person” who committed robberies. Since ending up in jail in 2024, Jenkins became a jail pod worker, joined an apprenticeship program and became a youth mentor who speaks directly to at-risk kids. In an apology letter dictated to the court by his lawyer, Jenkins said speaking to children is the most fulfilling part of his life now.

“I was part of something that scared and hurt people. I am ashamed of my actions. I am now able to put myself in other people’s shoes more now and see that what I did was really wrong,” Jenkins said. “I am sincerely sorry.”

When he speaks to kids, Jenkins said, he has a simple message for them: “It is OK to listen to your mom.”