ALBUQUERQUE – A federal jury sitting in Santa Fe, N.M.,
returned a verdict today finding Sara Ruiz guilty of armed robbery, firearms,
and witness tampering charges arising out of the robbery of the Route 66 Casino
Xpress, located in Laguna Pueblo, N.M., on Dec. 13, 2015.
Ruiz, 41, of Grants, N.M., and her co-defendants, Lorenzo
Chavez, 26, and James Montano, Jr., 24, both of Cubero, N.M., were indicted on
June 30, 2016. The indictment charged
the three with conspiracy to violate the Hobbs Act, violating the Hobbs Act by
robbing the Route 66 Casino Xpress, a gas station/convenience store and casino
in Laguna Pueblo, at gunpoint; and brandishing a firearm during a crime of
violence. The indictment alleged that
the defendants committed the crimes on Dec. 13, 2015, in Bernalillo County,
N.M. The indictment was superseded on
June 13, 2017, after Ruiz’s co-defendants entered guilty pleas, and charged
Ruiz with three additional counts of witness tampering.
Trial on the superseding indictment commenced on May 21,
2018, and concluded today when the jury returned a guilty verdict against Ruiz
on all six counts of the superseding indictment.
Evidence at trial established that on Dec. 13, 2015, Ruiz
and her co-defendants robbed the Route 66 Casino Xpress located in Laguna
Pueblo. Jurors viewed surveillance
footage showing Ruiz using her casino rewards card to purchase gas in the gas
station area of the Route 66 Casino Xpress while the two men who later robbed
the Route 66 Casino Xpress at gunpoint were in her vehicle shortly before the
robbery. The jury also viewed
surveillance video showing Ruiz’s vehicle as it drove around the back of the casino,
and dropped off two men who exited the vehicle and entered the casino
approximately a minute before the armed robbery took place.
Testimony during the trial established that in Feb. 2016,
March 2016, Dec. 2016 and Feb. 2017, Ruiz attempted to tamper with and
intimidate witnesses whom she expected to testify against her at trial. According to evidence presented at trial,
Ruiz had numerous conversations with several witnesses during which she
directed them to lie about her involvement and their knowledge of the armed
robbery. Ruiz also threatened to
physically hurt the witnesses if they mentioned her involvement in the armed
robbery, at one point claiming she would cut the tongue out of a witness’ mouth
because that’s what “she does to rats.”
At sentencing, Ruiz faces a maximum penalty of twenty years
in federal prison on the Hobbs Act and witness tampering counts, and a
mandatory minimum penalty of seven years in federal prison to be served
consecutive to any other sentence imposed for using a firearm during and in
relation to a crime of violence.
On Feb. 23, 2017, Chavez and Montano each pled guilty to
Count 2 of the indictment, charging them with violating the Hobbs Act by
robbing the Route 66 Casino Xpress at gunpoint on Dec. 13, 2015. Chavez also pled guilty to Count 3 of the
indictment, charging him with brandishing a firearm during that robbery.
In addition to his guilty plea to the two charges in the
case involving the Route 66 Casino Xpress, Chavez also entered a guilty plea to
a Hobbs Act and methamphetamine trafficking charges in a separate case. In that case, Chavez was charged in a
four-count indictment filed on Feb. 24, 2016.
That indictment charged Chavez with possessing distribution quantities
of methamphetamine on Dec. 19, 2015, and carrying a firearm in furtherance of a
drug trafficking crime. It also charged
Chavez with robbing an Allsups convenience store in southwest Albuquerque on
Dec. 29, 2015, and with brandishing a firearm during that robbery. On Feb. 23, 2017, Chavez also pled guilty to
possessing almost 61 gross grams of methamphetamine on Dec. 19, 2015, which he
intended to distribute to others. He
also pled guilty to robbing an Allsup’s convenience store at gunpoint on Dec.
29, 2015.
Under the terms of his plea agreement, Chavez will be
sentenced within the range of 120 to 180 months in prison. Montano faces a statutory maximum sentence of
20 years in prison.
Ruiz, Chavez and Montano remain in custody pending their
sentencing hearings, which have not yet been scheduled.
The case against Chavez, Montano and Ruiz, which arises from
the armed robbery of the Route 66 Casino Xpress, was investigated by the
Albuquerque office of the FBI and the Pueblo of Laguna Police Department, and
is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elaine Y. Ramirez and
Kristopher N. Houghton.
The case arising from the armed robbery of the Allsups
convenience store and methamphetamine trafficking was investigated by the
Albuquerque office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
and the Albuquerque Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant
U.S. Attorneys Paul Mysliwiec and Letitia Carroll Sims.
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