SANTA ANA, California – A brazen spree of terrorizing convenience store clerks came to an end today with the sentencing of Gerardo Sotelo, 28, of Buena Park. Sotelo was handed a 100-month federal prison sentence for a relentless campaign of 23 armed robberies targeting gas stations and convenience stores across Los Angeles and Orange counties. He used a replica firearm to intimidate victims during each heist.
United States District Judge Josephine L. Staton delivered the sentence, also ordering Sotelo to pay $625 in restitution. Sotelo pleaded guilty in February 2019 to four counts of interference with commerce by robbery, and one count of attempted interference with commerce by robbery – charges stemming from a pattern of calculated violence that stretched back to 2016.
The robberies primarily targeted Shell and Chevron gas stations, and 7-Eleven convenience stores in Brea, Pico Rivera, Norwalk, La Habra, Artesia, Cerritos, Whittier, Cypress, Fullerton, and Fountain Valley. Sotelo’s MO was chillingly consistent: a hooded sweatshirt obscuring his features, the selection of a single item before approaching the counter, and the brandishing of what appeared to be a fully functional semi-automatic pistol. He typically walked away with between $150 and $250 per robbery.
What made Sotelo particularly audacious was his repeat behavior. He wasn’t content with one-time scores. He routinely returned to previously robbed locations weeks later, demonstrating a callous disregard for the fear he instilled in his victims. On May 1, 2018, his luck ran out. He was arrested almost immediately after robbing a Chevron in Artesia – a store he’d already hit on April 18, 2018.
Law enforcement recovered the replica firearm and the $151 stolen from the Chevron. The clerk, already traumatized by the first robbery, positively identified Sotelo as the perpetrator from the April 18th incident, as detailed in the affidavit supporting the criminal complaint. The evidence painted a clear picture of a calculated criminal preying on vulnerable workers.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), along with the Brea Police Department, spearheaded the investigation, receiving significant support from the Fullerton Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Scott D. Tenley of the Santa Ana Branch Office successfully prosecuted the case, securing a sentence that, while lengthy, barely scratches the surface of the fear Sotelo inflicted on the communities he targeted.
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Key Facts
- State: California
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Violent Crime|Weapons|Organized Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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