Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Convict in fatal robbery cuts deal
Felon in West Boynton crime testifies vs. pals
One of seven men convicted in a deadly Three Amigos store robbery in West Boynton had his sentence reduced Tuesday, meaning he could walk free in about three years.
Nelson Urbina will now serve a 15-year term for his part in the 2007 crime that killed a 70-year-old motorist stuck in traffic. He has already served 10 years.
Samuel Salomon, a retired kosher baker, was heading home from Hanukkah shopping with his wife when he took a bullet meant for the Three Amigos manager who had pursued the robbers in a daring high-speed chase.
Over the years, six Miami men were convicted and sentenced to multiple terms of life in prison for their roles in the convenience
store heist and fatal shooting.
But Urbina, 39, of San Antonio, Texas — who was not in the getaway car and later testified against two accomplices — has had his punishment modified twice.
Urbina originally took a plea deal in 2011 for a 23-year-sentence for second-degree murder and several other felony charges. That same year, the term was lowered to 18 years because of his testimony against one of the other men.
Then last August, Urbina served as a key witness in the trial of Raul Andino, the so-called mastermind of the Three Amigos job. Prosecutors again supported a reduced sentence as a reward for the testimony. Salomon’s family also supported the change.
In a brief hearing Tuesday, Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Glenn Kelley approved the new 15-year sentence worked out by Assistant State Attorney Lauren Godden and defense attorney Bert Winkler.
At Andino’s trial, Urbina testified the gang initially schemed to hit a Miami Lakes check cashing store. But the presence of police there on Nov. 30, 2007 prompted Andino to head north.
Three Amigos manager Sian Kiat “Sam” Koh said robbers stole $58,000 from his combination grocerycheck cashing business, in the 9800 block of West Boynton Beach Boulevard.
Koh hopped in his Mercedes and chased the robbers’ Dodge Magnum on Florida’s Turnpike, reaching 100 mph at one point.
One of the robbers fired at Koh, but the bullet hit Salomon in the chest while he was caught in traffic on West Atlantic Avenue near the turnpike in West Delray Beach.
Urbina said he was responsible for picking up Andino in West Boca after the group abandoned the getaway car there following the chase.
Salomon, a grandfather who raised four sons, was able to put his minivan in neutral before losing consciousness.
His wife of 49 years, Yvonne, said she thought she heard what sounded like a rock hit the window and didn’t realize what had happened.
“He just passed out,” she told Andino’s jury. “I didn’t know that he died.”