Indio man charged with Cathedral City robbery, adding to Coachella Valley holdups
A 19-year-old was charged Thursday with robbing a Cathedral City gas station at knifepoint, a day after pleading guilty and being sentenced to nearly 11 years in prison for a string of other Coachella Valley holdups.
READ: Indio robber sentenced to nearly 11 years prison
Anthony Quintana, of Indio, is accused of robbing the Chevron gas station at 22600 Palm Drive on Aug. 8, about two hours before police say he robbed and attempted to rob two businesses in Indio.
An arrest warrant declaration alleges that Quintana and Angel Fernandez, 18, of Coachella, entered the gas station, with Quintana pointing a “silver folding knife” at a clerk. Quintana allegedly demanded money from the register, while Fernandez allegedly stood near the entrance, presumably to prevent the clerk from running.
After receiving the cash, Quintana allegedly threatened the clerk, saying “Don’t (expletive) say (expletive), or I’ll come back for you,” the declaration states.
READ: Thieves target two Indio businesses
The pair then allegedly fled through the back and left in a car driven by an unidentified woman.
About two hours later, the pair robbed an Indio Dollar Tree and tried to hold up a Domino’s Pizza store across the street within a seven-minute period
In that case, an employee working the register at Domino’s told police that two young men entered and acted nonchalantly, like “just another pair of customers.”
Quintana then approached the register and displayed “either a gun or knife,” while Angel Fernandez “stood by in the background,” according to a declaration in support of an arrest warrant.
Quintana told the worker to “give me the money and no one will get hurt,” but the employee had trouble opening the register because it was locked. Fernandez then approached Quintana, said “Hurry up, let’s go,” and the men left, the declaration states.
Seven minutes later, the Dollar Tree was robbed at knifepoint of about $300 in cash. The suspects were identified picked out by clerks via surveillance footage.
That same footage was shared with Cathedral City police, who confirmed via footage from the Chevron that it was Quintana and Fernandez, who were wearing the same clothes in both robberies, according to the declaration.
Fernandez was arrested the day after the robberies, but Quintana was on the run until Oct. 3, when he was arrested near Avenue 66 and state Route 86 in Mecca, according to jail records.
Quintana pleaded guilty and was sentenced Wednesday for the Indio robberies, as well as a robbery that occurred in April and a burglary from July. His sentences in the three cases will be served consecutively, totaling 10 years and eight months.
On Thursday, prosecutors charged Quintana with robbery, making criminal threats, and dissuading a witness in connection with the Chevron robbery. He pleaded not guilty to all charges Thursday afternoon and is next due in court Oct. 23 for a felony settlement conference.
Fernandez was not charged in the Chevron robbery, but pleaded guilty to the Indio robberies about two weeks after his arrest. He was free on bail for an April 26 Coachella robbery — to which he also pleaded guilty — at the time of the Indio crimes.
Fernandez was sentenced to four years for the Coachella robbery and five years for the Indio heist, though those sentences will be served concurrently.
More: I-Team and Stands for You investigations
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