Three youths sentenced in motel robbery

Three youths sentenced in motel robbery

Sept. 25, 2001

By Aspen C. Emmett
Journal Staff Writer

Three of six young people accused of an armed robbery at the Cortez Comfort Inn in the early-morning hours of March 19 have reached plea agreements with the district attorney’s office and have subsequently been sentenced for their participation in the crime.

Three other suspects have yet to reach an agreement on charges that include felony aggravated armed robbery, felony conspiracy, felony menacing, misdemeanor theft and misdemeanor third-degree assault.

All six suspects are from San Juan County, N.M., where they were apprehended the afternoon following the alleged incident.

Four of the suspects were juveniles at the time of the alleged robbery, but later were charged as adults.

According to police reports, two males entered the Comfort Inn around 1:30 a.m. and were inquiring about a room when a male wearing a black cape and a bandana over his mouth came in, pulled out a short shotgun, and demanded money from the female clerk, Bobie Samora.

The masked person then allegedly picked up a plastic brochure-holder and hurled it, striking Samora in the left arm. When she turned to get the money, a fourth male entered and demanded the clerk’s identification card. The woman said she did not have her ID and the four men, taking approximately $260, reportedly fled in a vehicle with two other people.

Montezuma County Sheriff’s Detective Lt. Kalvin Boggs testified in a preliminary hearing in April that the owner of the Comfort Inn, who also owns the Days Inn, had seen two suspicious individuals fitting the suspects’ descriptions 15 minutes before the robbery at his other motel.

The owner told police that one of the men had filled out a room registration card, providing his name, address and vehicle description, but left to get a credit card to pay for the room and never returned.

Boggs said the information on the card led detectives to a home in San Juan County, where the suspects were apprehended. He also testified that two of the individuals had confessed to their role in the robbery and had implicated the other four.

One of the alleged gunmen, Joshua Archuleta, 16, was sentenced Thursday in district court on one count of aggravated armed robbery. He tearfully apologized to the court and to Samora.

"I’d like to say to everybody I hurt, I’m really sorry," Archuleta sobbed. "I’ve tried my hardest — I don’t want to be a criminal."

Archuleta’s defense attorney, Tim Tuthill, pleaded with the court to take into consideration that his client has been a model prisoner while at the Robert Denier youth detention center in Durango since he was apprehended.

"For 185 days he’s been model," Tuthill said. "It’s not the kind of thing he’s done in the past — It’s not the kind of thing he’ll do in the future."

District Court Judge Sharon Hansen acknowledged what she viewed as a young remorseful offender, yet said she had to "send a message" to the community that the court will not treat lightly such serious offenses.

Samora also testified at the sentencing hearing, and emotionally told the court that she did not want Archuleta to face a sentence to the state penitentiary, rather to a youthful-offender program so that he could receive "education, job training and counseling," Samora told the judge.

Originally facing eight years in the Department of Corrections, Archuleta was sentenced to the Youthful Offender System in Denver for four years.

"This is your chance," Hansen told Archuleta. " I can see you have made genuine efforts."

The plea agreement dismissed charges of conspiracy, felony menacing, theft, third-degree assault and possession of a handgun by a juvenile. Archuleta was fined $816.

Marcus Bradley, 16, who claimed to have played a very minor part in the robbery, was released in April to his parents after he pleaded to felony menacing and misdemeanor theft. He was fined $1,015 and sentenced to 300 hours of public service and two years’probation, and ordered to substance-abuse and anger-management counseling. Original charges included aggravated armed robbery and conspiracy, both felony counts.

Allison Herrera-Hunt, 17, who reportedly stayed in the vehicle during the alleged robbery, entered a plea agreement in May. She was sentenced to 300 hours’ public service, mental-health treatment and substance-abuse treatment, and was ordered to write a letter of apology to the victim. She also faced charges of felony aggravated armed robbery, conspiracy, felony menacing and misdemeanor theft.

The last of the four juveniles to enter a plea will be Nicholas Robinson, 16, who was one of the alleged primary aggressors in the robbery. He is expected to appear in district court Oct. 3 at 2 p.m. for disposition and sentencing. It is unknown what kind of deal the district attorney’s office is offering Robinson, but original charges included four felony counts: aggravated armed robbery, felony menacing, conspiracy and possession of a dangerous weapon, as well as misdemeanor theft and third-degree assault charges.

The two adult suspects have not entered pleas in the robbery and remain in custody at the Montezuma County Jail.

Zachary Sullivan, 21, is charged with felony aggravated armed robbery, felony menacing, felony conspiracy, misdemeanor theft and third-degree assault. Sullivan’s trial has been set for Feb. 4.

Albert Gutierrez, 20, faces charges of felony aggravated armed robber, felony conspiracy, felony menacing, misdemeanor theft and third-degree assault. His trial has been set for Jan. 7

Both adults also face several charges in New Mexico for offenses related to the robbery. Charges include four counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.