Indio robber sentenced to nearly 11 years prison

A 19-year-old who robbed an Indio discount store and tried to hold up a Domino’s Pizza store across the street within a seven-minute period pleaded guilty Wednesday and was immediately sentenced to nearly 11 years in state prison.

Anthony Quintana, of Indio, admitted Wednesday to the Aug. 8 robbery of the Dollar Tree store at 42225 Jackson St. and the attempted robbery of Domino’s Pizza at 81942 Highway 111.

Read the story on the robbery: Thieves target two Indio businesses

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 his accomplice, 18-year-old Angel Fernandez of Coachella, “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.

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 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.

Fernandez pleaded guilty to a robbery count 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.