An 18-year-old pleaded guilty in Clark County Superior Court on Thursday to taking part in an armed robbery of a juvenile.
Alejandro Paz Espinoza was not sentenced on the third-degree assault charge, which carries a standard jail term of one to three months. He originally faced a charge of first-degree robbery, but it was replaced with the assault charge as part of a plea agreement.
Despite the lesser charge, Senior Deputy Prosecutor Dan Gasperino said the state would be arguing for the court to impose a four-year prison sentence.
Judge Gregory Gonzales asked Espinoza if he understood he was risking having a much longer sentence by accepting the agreement; the teenage defendant replied that he did.
Gasperino told the judge that trial evidence would have shown Espinoza and others robbed a juvenile with a deadly weapon.
Vancouver police officers were dispatched about 10 p.m. Oct. 30 to the 13000 block of Northeast Sixth Street.
Suspects reportedly brandished a weapon and were seen leaving the area in a white Honda; police pulled the vehicle over several blocks away from the scene, Vancouver Police Department spokeswoman Kim Kapp said at that time.
Police arrested Espinoza, Jesus Prado, 36, Tommy Lee Edwards Davis Jr., 20, and Josiah Christopher Lindsey, 17, on suspicion of first-degree robbery.
According to court records, two men walked up to someone sitting in a car, drew a gun on him and had him exit the vehicle. They forcefully stole some items, and Prado struck the victim in the face.
Prado was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in February for his part in the robbery. Davis’ sentencing is set for Aug. 17. Lindsey previously pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree robbery with firearm enhancements and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm in Clark County Juvenile Court. He was committed to a juvenile facility until his 21st birthday.
Espinoza’s sentencing hearing was set for Oct. 24. Defense attorney Edward LeRoy Dunkerly asked the judge that his client be given several months to pay back his parents, who posted a $7,500 bond for their son’s pretrial release.
The prosecution did not object.
“You going to be able to pay back your folks?” Gonzales asked.
“Yes, sir,” Espinoza said.
