Man charged in armed robbery to accept plea deal
One of the men charged in connection to the armed robbery of a man standing on a street corner was back in Yuma County Superior Court on Thursday, with his attorney informing the judge that he intended to change his not guilty plea.
Alejandro Emmanuel Urrea, 24, has been charged with aggravated assault and one count of attempted robbery, both of which are class 3 felonies. He remains in custody in the Yuma County jail on $100,000 bond.
During Urrea’s hearing, his attorney requested a change of plea hearing and a conditions of release hearing for him. She did not provide the court with any information about the plea, other than one has been offered to her client and he has accepted it.
Superior Court Judge Roger Nelson, who is presiding over the case scheduled 8:30 a.m. on Aug. 24 for both hearings.
According to Yuma police, at approximately 6:07 p.m. March 15, officers responded to a report of an armed robbery that took place in the 1500 block of S. Avenue A.
The witness told police that he was standing on that northwest corner at S. Avenue A when a white BMW pulled up to him.
A passenger in the vehicle then demanded property from the victim while brandishing a handgun, which appeared to have a malfunction. At that point, the victim ran from the area and called police.
Minutes later, an officer located the vehicle in the area of 8th Street and Avenue B, but the driver refused to stop. The pursuit was soon called off due to safety reasons.
The vehicle was last seen crossing the Ocean-to-Ocean Bridge into California, according to police, and was found abandoned a short time later in a Winterhaven parking lot.
Urrea was located back in Yuma at approximately 10:44 p.m. and taken into custody. The BMW was later reported stolen.
James Gilbert can be reached at jgilbert@yumasun.com or 539-6854. Find him on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/ YSJamesGilbert or on Twitter @YSJamesGilbert.