A man who admitted to stealing more than $24,000 in deposit slips from a State College Uni-Mart in July will be spending the next one to two years in a state correctional facility.
Ernesto Rivera was sentenced yesterday on one count of robbery by President Judge Charles Brown for a series of internal thefts at Uni-Mart, 1200 S. Atherton St., committed by Rivera and a manager at the Uni-Mart, Jose Urquiaga, according to court documents.
The prison sentence was part of the negotiated agreement between Rivera's lawyer, public defender Deborah Lux, and Assistant District Attorney Lance Marshall. The plea agreement also gave Rivera credit for the 104 days he has already served and dismissed the charge of receiving stolen property.
Marshall said the standard range of prison time for a charge of robbery is between six and 14 months.
"[Rivera received] right in the middle of the standard range, but toward the high side," Marshall said. "We thought it appropriate, given the circumstances of the case."
Lux said that generally, the prison time for this charge varies.
"There are so many different situations depending on background and circumstances," Lux said.
Rivera might be eligible for parole around the time his minimum sentence is up, which is one year, Lux said.
"He was also made eligible for a motivational boot camp," she said. "If it is successfully done, he could be eligible after six months."
Rivera was also ordered to pay restitution for the $216 taken from the cash register.
"It is something I'm following up on because he actually discarded the cash drawer," Lux said. "I'm going to make sure he does not pay restitution to Uni-Mart."
Marshall said he also believes the money was recovered by the police and turned over to Uni-Mart.
"If that is true, he will not pay restitution," he said.
According to court documents, Rivera, 28, and Urquiaga, 31, stole more than $24,000 in deposit slips from the Uni-Mart at which they were employed. The thefts occurred between July 22 and July 26, until the men, on the morning of July 27, staged a robbery to conceal their earlier thefts. Rivera entered the Uni-Mart, wearing a mask and holding a 15-inch crowbar and pretended to steal deposit slips to cover up the internal thefts. He also stole the cash drawer, which contained $216 and was recovered later that night, the State College Police Department said at the time.
Rivera left in the car driven by Urquiaga, and they returned to their Lamar residence with plans to flee the state, according to court documents. Urquiaga drove back to the store once the robbery was reported and viewed the surveillance videotape with police.
At about 9 p.m. July 27, a Fort Lee, N.J., police officer stopped Rivera, Urquiaga and another man for a traffic violation. The officer discovered a Uni-Mart deposit bag in the vehicle, and to explain the presence of the deposit bag, the men told the officer they were Uni-Mart employees. Fort Lee police contacted the Uni-Mart regional manager and found that it was not protocol to carry deposit bags, and the men were arrested.
The State College Police Department was notified of the arrests and subsequently obtained a search warrant for Rivera and Urquiaga's residence, 4958 Nittany Valley Drive, Apt. 1.
The two men were held in New Jersey and later brought back to Pennsylvania to face charges. They were charged with robbery, criminal conspiracy, theft, receiving stolen property, simple assault and harassment, according to police.
Urquiaga is being held in Centre County prison and will have a pretrial conference Nov. 15.
Lux said she and her client were pleased with yesterday's proceedings.
"We both felt that it was a very reasonable resolution to the case," she said.
