Mendoza pleas to armed robbery
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The defendant, Christopher Mendoza, entered a guilty plea before Circuit Court Judge Bart Stanley to the charge of aggravated robbery and was directed to serve eight years. His alleged accomplice, Chris Markey, will face trial for his alleged role in the robbery next year.
The men were arrested minutes after they fled McMinnville Loan located on Chancery Street across from Bobby Ray Elementary. The robbery, which happened in December, was committed in broad daylight when the two suspects walked into the loan institution and robbed the employees of $3,700.
It was during their getaway that the suspects were unwittingly sighted by lawmen who were traveling in an unmarked patrol car. The officers, who heard the robbery dispatched over the scanner, saw the vehicle leaving the area and noticed it was unusual the men were wearing short sleeves despite the fact it was a very cold day. It was later learned the men had allegedly pulled off the heavy clothes they had used in the robbery.
The men were arrested when they arrived at a residence a few miles away from the scene with officers still on their tail. A subsequent search of their vehicle netted a gun, the clothes allegedly used in the robbery and the money which had just been taken.
The suspects had hoped to bar prosecutors from using the most damaging evidence against them by saying officers did not have probable cause to follow and stop them. Such a ruling would have meant the items found in the car could not be used as evidence. However, the court ruled lawmen were in their rights to follow the suspects, thereby permitting the evidence to be used.
Markey, who declined to join his alleged accomplice in entering a plea, could face eight to 12 years in prison if convicted on the aggravated robbery charge.