Left inset: Ilya Shimonov (Maricopa County Attorney’s Office). Right inset: Robert Celifie (Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The converted school bus where Ilya Shimonov, known as “Mike the Barber,” operated his mobile barber business before Robert Celifie arranged his killing (Instagram).
An Arizona judge has sentenced a 45-year-old California man to life in prison for arranging the execution-style murder of a mobile barber shortly after the victim completed a haircut, prosecutors said.
Robert Celifie was convicted in connection with the January 2022 murder of 32-year-old Ilya Shimonov, who was also known as “Mike the Barber.” Shimonov had just finished a haircut appointment in the parking lot of a Scottsdale hotel when he was attacked.
The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office announced Monday that Celifie received a life sentence after a jury found him guilty in August of conspiracy, first-degree murder and first-degree burglary. His alleged accomplice, Chaze Cable, was convicted of the same charges by a separate jury in 2025 and was also sentenced to life in prison.
According to the attorney’s office, Shimonov ran his business from a school bus that had been converted into a mobile barbershop. On the night of Jan. 3, 2022, he had just completed an appointment outside a Scottsdale hotel when he was shot several times. He later died from his injuries.
Detectives “quickly realized” that Shimonov’s cellphone was missing and followed its movements from the crime scene to Las Vegas and eventually Los Angeles. Prosecutors said Cable drove to Scottsdale in Celifie’s vehicle and used Celifie’s gun in the killing.
Investigators said Celifie’s involvement extended beyond supplying the car and firearm. He allegedly gave Cable money, photographs of Shimonov, the scheduled time and location of the attack, instructions to take the victim’s phone and directions for what to do afterward.
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“This defendant may not have been the one who pulled the trigger, but through his actions he condemned this victim to death just the same,” Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said. She credited the Scottsdale Police Department and prosecutor Richard Dusterhoft with ensuring that Celifie would spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Shimonov’s mother said Monday that her son had always dreamed of owning a “barber bus on wheels,” according to AZ Family. She spoke at a news conference held by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.
“And he made it happen,” she said.
Authorities believe Celifie arranged the killing to obtain Shimonov’s cellphone, although investigators have not publicly explained why Celifie and Cable wanted the device.
Prosecutors said Shimonov did not know either Celifie or Cable, though Shimonov and Celifie were connected through several mutual acquaintances, according to local NBC affiliate KPNX.
At Monday’s press conference, Maricopa County deputy attorney Richard Dusterhoft described how the alleged plan unfolded. Celifie was asked where the attack should take place and supplied the address of a hotel in Old Town Scottsdale. Dusterhoft said Celifie instructed Cable to take the iPhone and carry out the plan after Shimonov finished his appointment. The victim’s phone was then tracked to the Orleans Hotel, its first stop after leaving Scottsdale.