CORPUS CHRISTI, Tx — A Corpus Christi man has been sentenced to 14 years and 3 months in prison for an armed robbery and shooting that took place at a Stripes convenience store in 2023.
According to a press release from the United States Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Texas, 22-year-old Jose Valdez pleaded guilty on April 29, 2024 but the crime took place on June 29, 2023.
At around 6:40 a.m., Valdez entered a Stripes convenience store, located on Port Street, with a handgun and demanded that the clerk hand over money from the cash register. At that point, three customers entered and saw the robbery going down.
Valdez told them to leave, and shot one of them in the leg as they were leaving. While they were driving the injured customer to the hospital, Valdez took the money form the clerk, ran outside, got in a silver car and drove off.
However, law enforcement had ongoing investigations on other aggravated robberies in Corpus Christi and identified Valdez from the surveillance footage.
Valdez was sentenced to serve a sentence of 4 years and 3 months for the robbery, as well as 10 years for the shooting in federal prison. His total of 14 years and 3 months in prison is to be followed up by five years of supervised release.
“The Stripes store is a Corpus Christi original, a place patrons can find gas, a quick snack and a clerk’s welcoming words. No one, however, should ever have to find themselves at the wrong end of a violent criminal’s gun, turning those patrons into victims,” U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani said. “Today’ s sentence represents how multiple lives were put at risk only because they happened to cross paths with Jose Valdez and his gun at a local Stripes.”
Valdez will remain in custody pending his transfer to prison, the release states.
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