Plea deal means 22-year sentence

Albuquerque man charged in a string of robberies in Santa Fe

SANTA FE — An Albuquerque man charged with several armed robberies in Santa Fe in 2012 received a lengthy sentence for firearms charges in federal court here Monday.

Elias Atencio, 38, was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised probation as part of a plea agreement, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Atencio had been charged in March 2013 on a threecount indictment for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, committing commercial robbery and brandishing a firearm during a violent crime after he robbed the Walgreens at 1096 St. Francis Drive on Feb. 23, 2012. He has a New Mexico criminal record dating back to 1996.

Atencio pleaded guilty to two of the three charges in the federal indictment in August 2014, admitting to possessing a .45 caliber semiautomatic pistol and brandishing it while robbing the Walgreens. Online records show he is still housed at the Santa Fe County jail, where he has been since Sept. 17, 2013, for 22 charges, including robbery, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, receiving a stolen vehicle and resisting or obstructing a police officer.

After robbing the Walgreens, Atencio reportedly initiated a police chase through residential neighborhoods and was eventually stopped by a spike strip near Richards Avenue and Rodeo Road.

After continuing to resist arrest, Santa Fe officers broke the driver-side window and apprehended Atencio after deploying a Taser. Police said Atencio also robbed the Frogurt frozen yogurt store on Rodeo Road on Feb. 12, 2012. Three days later, police said, he robbed the Subway on Cordova Road and then robbed the same Frogurt.