Man accused in Burlington Coat Factory robbery changes plea
The man accused of robbing the Burlington Coat Factory and fleeing from police on foot after crashing his car appeared in Yuma County Superior Court on Tuesday for a change of plea hearing.
With his attorneys standing by his side, 23-year-old Kiko Armando Luna pleaded guilty to one amended count of attempted armed robbery and one count of unlawful flight from pursuing law enforcement officer, as per the plea deal offered to him by the prosecution.
In return for his guilty plea, multiple other misdemeanor and felony charges against him were dismissed, including shoplifting, criminal damage, possession of dangerous drugs and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Superior Court Judge Stephen Rouff talked Luna through the change of plea, making sure he understood what was happening. Rouff also informed him that the plea stipulated he received a 1 1/2 year prison sentence for the unlawful flight charge.
Rouff continued by saying that it also stipulated that he receive a term of probation of no less than 36 months following his release from prison for the attempted armed robbery charge. It was not indicated whether Luna would have to serve any time in jail as a condition of that probation.
Luna is scheduled to be sentenced at 8:30 a.m. on Feb. 13. Since he pleaded guilty to the offenses in a plea agreement, it counts as an automatic violation of the probation he was serving, so he will be sentenced on that at the same time.
According to Yuma police, at approximately 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2017, officers responded to the Burlington Coat Factory, located 3020 S. 4th Ave., for a report of an armed robbery.
However, the suspect, later identified by police as Luna, had already fled the scene in a white Pontiac Bonneville, and was last seen heading toward 4th Avenue.
Court records indicate that as the suspect was leaving the store, someone from Burlington tried to stop him, but the suspect reached behind his back and stated he had a gun.
Yuma police were later able to determine the suspect’s vehicle was registered to an address in Winterhaven, and the Quechan Police Department was notified.
A short time later, a Yuma police officer spotted the vehicle crossing the Ocean-to-Ocean Bridge into California, and YPD dispatch advised Quechan PD and the Imperial County Sheriff’s Office that the vehicle was in the Winterhaven area.
Yuma police say the vehicle was located by law enforcement and then crossed back over the Ocean-to-Ocean Bridge into Yuma.
The suspect later fled on foot after crashing the Pontiac into another vehicle in the 100 block of South Main Street.
The suspect was located a short time later and taken into custody. There were no injuries in the wreck.