An armed robber who was charged with holding up 11 people in Ocean Beach, Hillcrest, Golden Hill and elsewhere on the same night was sentenced Monday to seven years in state prison.
Restitution for the victims against Joseph Andres Garcia, 20, of San Diego, will be determined in a later hearing. San Diego Superior Court Judge Timothy Walsh gave him credit for a year in jail and fined him $4,533.
Before his arrest, Garcia posted this question on his Facebook page, “Who knows how to unlock an iPhone 4,” which is the type stolen from a UCSD student Feb. 2, 2014. That tip led to his arrest three days later.
Garcia pleaded guilty to two robbery charges and the other hold-ups and attempted robberies were dismissed after he agreed to accept the 7-year sentence April 20.
The getaway driver, Benjamin Hernandez, 24, of National City, will be sentenced May 27 after he pleaded guilty to committing two robberies. Hernandez faces a maximum 6-year sentence. One of the victims remembered his car license tag which led to his arrest Feb. 3, 2014.
The robberies started in Ocean Beach at 6:50 p.m. Feb. 2, 2014, when three guys on Cape May near Cable Street were approached by the robbers and a juvenile. One bandit held a tire iron. The men lost their cell phones, cigarettes and a lighter.
A man lost his cell phone at 7:10 p.m., and another man lost his wallet containing $2, credit cards and ID cards at 7:40 p.m. on First Avenue in Hillcrest, according to the probation report.
Another man was robbed at 9:15 p.m. of $250 in his wallet. Another man who was standing outside his apartment at 10:42 p.m. had a gun put to his head and given three seconds to give up his phone. His phone was stolen and one bandit hit him in the back with a tire iron.
The last group robbed was UCSD students sitting on a bench outside the school gym. One bandit held a tire iron, and the students were robbed of their cell phones, student IDs wallets, and credit cards.
