A Corpus Christi man has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for robbing a Stripes supermarket at gunpoint and shooting a customer last summer.
Jose Valdez, 22, pleaded guilty on April 29 to obstruction of public commerce by threat or force and carrying and discharging a firearm in connection with a violent crime, according to court records filed Jan. 24 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
US District Judge David S. Morales imposed a prison sentence of 51 months for the robbery and a further 120 months for the shooting. This will be followed immediately by five years of probation, according to a press release from the US Department of Justice on Wednesday.
At the hearing, the court heard additional testimony from the shooting victim, who described the aftereffects of his injuries more than a year later.
“Today’s verdict represents the loss of many lives simply because their path happened to cross with Jose Valdez and his gun at a local Stripes meeting,” U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani said in Wednesday’s press release.
Federal court records show that on June 29, 2023, Valdez entered a Stripes convenience store at 601 S. Port Ave. with a handgun, pointed the gun at the clerk and demanded money from the cash register. At the same time, three customers entered the store and witnessed the robbery.
In the footage, Valdez can be seen turning around and pointing the gun at the three men, who then attempted to turn and leave. As they left the store, he shot one of the men in the leg.
According to the press release, all three men left the store while the two uninjured men took the third to the hospital for treatment. Valdez turned back to the clerk and ordered her to empty all the cash registers in the store. Valdez took the money, ran out of the store, got into a silver car and drove away.
Law enforcement authorities are currently investigating other aggravated robberies in Corpus Christi and identified Valdez through surveillance footage from Stripes, the press release said.
Valdez will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility, which will be determined in the near future.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case with assistance from the Corpus Christi Police Department.
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