Jurors in the 364th District Court on Wednesday handed a 45-year prison sentence to a 29-year-old man they believed was one of three people who robbed the Picantes Restaurant more than four years ago.
Jurors deliberated for about 2 hours and 15 minutes before returning with the 45-year prison sentence and a $10,000 fine against Phillip Velazquez for his role in the Jan. 27, 2017 armed robbery at Picantes in the 3800 block of 34th Street.
Velazquez is the third defendant to be convicted in connection with the robbery. His brother, Joseph Gonzalez, was convicted by a jury in 2019 and was sentenced by 364th District Judge William Eichman to 60 years in prison.
Lubbock woman sentenced to 7 years for aggravated kidnapping Dakota Valderas is charged in connection to an aggravated kidnapping that happened in January 2020 (Source: Lubbock County Detention Center) By Amber Stegall | April 8, 2021 at 11:32 AM CDT - Updated April 8 at 11:39 AM
LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - A Lubbock woman pleaded guilty Thursday morning to an aggravated kidnapping that happened in January 2020 and has been sentenced to seven years in jail.
Dakota Valdeas, who is now 24 years old, was arrested in the Pinal Mountains in Arizona in late January 2020, about three weeks after the kidnapping.
Officials with the Lubbock Police Department say the 19-year-old victim received a text message from Dakota Valderas on Jan. 11 asking him to meet her at an apartment in the 4600 block of 71st Street so she could give him a phone. When he arrived, Valderas asked the victim to wait at the apartment while she got the phone.
Third defendant in 2017 Picantes Restaurant robbery found guilty
A 29-year-old man faces up to life in prison after he was convicted by a jury for his role in the armed robbery of a Central Lubbock restaurant four years ago.
Jurors in the 364th District Court deliberated for two and 1/2 hours before returning with their verdict finding 29-year-old Phillip Velazquez guilty as charged of aggravated robbery for his role in the Jan. 27, 2017, armed robbery at Picantes restaurant in the 3800 block of 34th Street.
Velazquez is the final defendant to be convicted in the robbery. His brother, Joseph Gonzalez, was sentenced in 2019 to 60 years in prison for his role in the robbery. Damian Villarreal, who testified against Gonzalez, pleaded guilty in September in exchange for a 30-year prison sentence.
Jury finds man guilty in 2017 Picantes restaurant aggravated robbery kcbd.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from kcbd.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.