Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Convenience Store Robberies
Reno, Nev. – A man who robbed five convenience stores in the Reno area over an eight-day period during late 2011 and early 2012, has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.
Randy Macario Ancheta, 24, of Reno, was sentenced on Monday, Dec. 3, 2012, by U.S. District Judge Philip M. Pro. Ancheta pleaded guilty in August 2012 to five counts of interference with commerce by armed robbery and one count of using a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
According to the guilty plea agreement, Ancheta, who was on parole for a 2008 felony conviction for attempted lewdness with a child under 14, admitted that he and an accomplice, Cameron Muhlenberg, robbed five convenience stores between Dec. 27, 2011, and Jan. 3, 2012. Three of the stores were located in Reno; one was located in Sparks; and one was located in Carson City. A handgun was brandished and used to demand money from the store clerk in each of the robberies. Ancheta and Muhlenberg alternated roles in the crimes, with one of them entering the store with the handgun and the other serving as the get-away diver. Ancheta specifically admitted that he was the gunman in two of the robberies, and served as the get-away driver in the other three.
Muhlenberg was also charged and pleaded guilty to four counts of interference with commerce by armed robbery and one count of using a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 19, 2013.
The case was investigated by the Reno Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney William R. Reed. The case was screened through the Northern Nevada Project Safe Neighborhoods Task Force, a team of federal and local law enforcement officers and prosecutors who meet on a regular basis to discuss arrests involving guns and explosives. Project Safe Neighborhoods, also known as PSN, is a Department of Justice initiative and a nationwide commitment to reduce gun and gang crime in America.
