A Houston-area man has been sentenced to a lengthy prison term for a series of robberies he committed shortly after being released from prison on charges related to a previous theft.

Quantez Whiteside, 25, was sentenced to a total of 21 years and six months in prison.

In January 2021, Whiteside robbed three different Metro by T-Mobile stores (formerly known as Metro PCS) in the Houston area, stealing cell phones and cash from each location and, in two cases, threatening employees with a weapon.

Before one of the robberies, Whiteside told a Metro employee he wanted to buy a cell phone and gave his personal phone number. Before fleeing with the stolen goods, the employee entered the number and was able to link it to Whiteside’s account at the store.

Using Whiteside’s account information, investigators were able to quickly locate his residence and find the stolen goods and weapons in a pink backpack.

Just six months before the cellphone robberies, Whiteside was released from prison after serving a two-year sentence for his involvement in the 2018 robbery of a Domino’s Pizza delivery driver.

The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Hoyt and includes three counts of obstruction of commerce by robbery and two counts of use of a firearm during a crime of violence. His sentence was extended by an additional 18 months because he committed the crimes while on probation after previously being convicted of robbery.

“As this series progressed, the robber became careless and left behind his cell phone number, which essentially served as a lead for investigators that led him directly to him,” said U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani. “Obviously, the two years he previously spent in a federal prison were not enough to deter him from committing these crimes. With today’s sentencing, he will have ample opportunity to reflect on his actions and the damaging impact they had on the victims.”