BREAKING NEWS: Target robber gets 19 years
Richard Robledo, 51, of Lakewood walked out of a Target store in Redondo Beach last summer with $400 worth of Gillette Fusion razor blades in his pockets. Now, let's face it, those blades are expensive, but you still gotta pay for them.
So when store security guards confronted him, he wrestled with them, pulled a gun and ran. The gun wasn't real, but the guards didn't know that.
Robledo broke into a house north of the store on Kingsdale Avenue, and hid in a closet while police searched for him outside. It might have seemed like a good idea at the time, but Robledo had no idea who lived there.
That would be plumber Tony Cardoza, a 73-year-old Korean War veteran who arrived home from a job. He heard a noise, looked in his closet and was shocked to find Robledo. Cardoza yanked him from the closet, and twisted him around by the head. Robledo threatened to kill him and jabbed him in the ribs with a gun. That gun was indeed real.
It was a handgun Cardoza used during the war and kept in the closet.
Robledo ran out of the house, but was quickly arrested outside.
Robledo pleaded guilty last month to robbery, grand theft and making criminal threats. Today, Torrance Superior Court Judge James Brandlin sentenced him to 19 years in prison.
So when store security guards confronted him, he wrestled with them, pulled a gun and ran. The gun wasn't real, but the guards didn't know that.
Robledo broke into a house north of the store on Kingsdale Avenue, and hid in a closet while police searched for him outside. It might have seemed like a good idea at the time, but Robledo had no idea who lived there.
That would be plumber Tony Cardoza, a 73-year-old Korean War veteran who arrived home from a job. He heard a noise, looked in his closet and was shocked to find Robledo. Cardoza yanked him from the closet, and twisted him around by the head. Robledo threatened to kill him and jabbed him in the ribs with a gun. That gun was indeed real.
It was a handgun Cardoza used during the war and kept in the closet.
Robledo ran out of the house, but was quickly arrested outside.
Robledo pleaded guilty last month to robbery, grand theft and making criminal threats. Today, Torrance Superior Court Judge James Brandlin sentenced him to 19 years in prison.
About the Blogger
Larry Altman has covered crime in the South Bay since 1990. He's seen it all - the missing model who turned up dead in the desert, the wives found dead in trunks, the high-school coaches who get a little too close to their players. He drives his young colleagues nuts with his "I remember when" stories. He welcomes your tips and observations about the present, and you can mix in a little Lakers basketball talk if you like.
E-mail Larry at larry.altman@dailybreeze.com.
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