Armed robber gets two years in prison
Six of eight charges dropped in plea deal; new offenses could result in additional time
A man accused of committing a string of armed robberies in Santa Fe in the spring pleaded guilty Tuesday to two of eight charges against him and was sentenced to two years in prison.
District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies wrote in an email she agreed to the plea deal, in part because Fernando Ruiz hadn’t physically injured anyone while committing the crimes.
“This is the case of a young, first-time offender with no prior criminal history and a good chance at rehabilitation who went on a short-lived crime spree resulting in emotional and financial, but no physical injuries,” Carmack-Altwies wrote in an email Tuesday.
Santa Fe police in June arrested Ruiz in connection with a string of armed robberies that had occurred the previous month. In a news release at the time, the department said he was linked to 10 cases, including robberies at several gas stations, a Subway restaurant and a title loan outlet.
Ruiz, now 24, ultimately was charged with three counts of armed robbery, two counts of aggravated assault, one count of attempted armed robbery and larceny, according to court records.
The armed robbery charges corresponded to a May 27 incident in which Ruiz was accused of using a knife to rob $211 from an Allsup’s gas station, a June 8 incident in which he stole $180 from a Title Max loan office with a gun and a June 9 incident in which he was accused of using a knife to take $150 from another Allsup’s.
Under the terms of his agreement with prosecutors, Ruiz pleaded guilty to the armed robbery and aggravated assault charges related to the Title Max incident. The other counts against him were dismissed.
Ruiz’s plea exposed him to a potential 10-year prison sentence, but prosecutors agreed to suspend 8 years — which he could be required to serve if he gets in trouble again — as part of his plea agreement.
He will receive credit for 224 days of pre-sentence confinement and will be required to serve two years on parole and five years supervised probation after his release from prison.
“Many of the victims in the cases were/are unavailable. Only three of the incidents had any chance at trial,” Carmack-Altwies wrote in an email. “Of those three, two involved Mr. Ruiz brandishing a knife while separated from the victims by a physical barrier. The incident with the handgun was clearly the most serious in nature and was the incident to which [he] pled guilty.”
State District Judge T. Glenn Ellington, who accepted the plea and sentenced Ruiz, said during the hearing the terms of the deal were “reasonable and in the interest of justice.”
Ruiz declined the opportunity to speak at Tuesday’s hearing.
Public defender Matthew Carlisle, who represented Ruiz, said in phone interview the plea deal “served the ends of justice on both sides.”