Man Who Pleaded Guilty to Shooting La Mesa Teen in Head to be Sentenced Today

Two men who pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a spree of robberies, including one in La Mesa in which a 16-year-old Arizona boy was shot in the head but survived, were scheduled to be sentenced today.

Alvaro Regalado and Juan Jose Arriero, both 22, pleaded guilty to attempted murder and robbery charges in connection with the June 2011 robbery spree.

Authorities said the defendants were armed with a shotgun and a pistol when they held up seven people in five robberies. Among the victims was a 16- year-old Arizona boy, who was in town to visit family when he decided to go skateboarding alone in the 7300 block of El Cajon Boulevard around 2 a.m.

The robbers took a small amount of cash from the boy and shot him the head, but the bullet only grazed the teen and he survived, authorities said.

—City News Service