Man charged in armed robbery sentenced to prison
The man charged in connection to the armed robbery of a medical marijuana dispensary late last year was sentenced Tuesday morning in Yuma County Superior Court to time in prison and a term of probation.
Under the terms of a plea agreement he pleaded guilty to in April, Luther Anthony Byers was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Stephen Rouff to five years in prison for attempted armed robbery, with credit for 156 days previously served.
Judge Rouff also gave Byers, who was represented by attorney Raymond Vacca, of the Yuma County Public Defenders Office, four years of supervised probation for attempted aggravated assault, which he will begin serving immediately after his release from prison.
He then warned Byers that if he were to commit another felony offense, or a crime that posed a risk to the community, while serving the term of probation he had received, he would be brought back to court.
Once in court, he continued, if it was proven that he violated his probation he could be sentenced to another prison term, this one ranging from one year to three years and nine months in prison, with the presumptive sentence being two-and-a-half years.
In handing down the prison sentence, Judge Rouff told Byers that he had determined that two aggravating factors existed in the robbery, which is why he was giving him a lengthier sentence.
Those aggravating factors, he said, were the defendants age, being he is 26 years of age or older, and the number of victims involved in the crime.
According to Yuma police at approximately 3:08 p.m. on Nov. 20 officers were dispatched to the Cannabis Relief Clinic, located in the Thunderbird Plaza, 2855 S. 4th Ave., Suite 114, in reference to an armed robbery.
Through the initial investigation, officers learned a male suspect, now known to be Byers entered the business and displayed a handgun. The suspect then fled the store on foot, running eastbound toward the Walgreens parking lot with an undisclosed amount of money.
A second male suspect, who was waiting outside the business, was seen running away with Byers. Both suspects were then seen getting into a white Ford Fusion.
Later that evening, at approximately 9 p.m., Byers turned himself in to the Yuma Police Department. The second suspect, identified only as a black male, is still outstanding.