San Bruno Teen Facing 4 Years in Prison for 2 Robberies

REDWOOD CITY, CA- A San Bruno teen pleaded no contest to two counts of robbery on Tuesday for robbing a woman at gunpoint in San Mateo in October and robbing a man in San Bruno a month earlier, prosecutors said.

Michael Alexander Rodriguez, 19, faces up to four years in prison for the two robberies when he is sentenced on March 3, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office.

The first robbery happened on Sept. 6, when a 21-year-old man was walking home in San Bruno at 10:51 p.m. after picking up takeout food, prosecutors said. The victim had driven to the restaurant and parked his car on Linden Avenue near his home when he returned. As he was walking, Rodriguez and an accomplice approached him and put a gun to his throat. They demanded everything he had and took his wallet and cellphone, making him unlock the phone and disable the passcode feature.

The second robbery happened about a month later on Oct. 2. Rodriguez approached a 40-year-old woman walking home from Western Union in San Mateo. When she was almost to her home on DeSabla Road, Rodriguez approached her and demanded her money, threatening to shoot her with a replica gun. He took her purse, jumped in a car and fled, prosecutors said.

Police pulled Rodriguez over for a traffic violation on Oct. 14 and noticed a replica handgun on the back seat of the car. They connected the gun to the robbery and the victim identified him in a photo lineup, prosecutors said.

Investigators encountered Rodriguez again on Oct. 27 while doing a probation search of a possible accomplice’s home. He was there during the search and police found more evidence connecting him to the robbery.

He pleaded no contest Tuesday on the condition that he receives no more than four years in prison for both robberies, prosecutors said. He remains in custody on $50,000 bail.

– By Bay City News Service. Image via Shutterstock.