Damian Maldonado was represented by attorney Dennis McCarthy, and the prosecution was handled by Graham County Chief Deputy County Attorney C. Alan Perkins.

The charges stem from a robbery in the early hours of February 20 at the Taking Aim firearms and ammunition store at 1122 W. Thatcher Street, Safford.

The robbery involved destroying the store’s front door and display glass cases, and stealing three 9MM pistols ($300 each) and an Angstadt Arms AA-0940 9MM pistol (valued at $1,439). The twins were wearing masks, but were seen on surveillance cameras in the store by a police officer acquaintance, and all four guns stolen from the store were eventually recovered by the police. Total damage was reported at $3,391.89.

Damien’s twin brother, Dominique, pleaded guilty to first-degree theft and robbery on March 7. The petition dismissed the additional theft and criminal damage charges, leaving all clauses to the court’s discretion and ruling the theft charge to supervised probation. Dominic was sentenced on March 28 to three years with supervised probation, 180 days in prison, and 35 days of probation.

The sentence for theft was postponed. That means Dominic will have the opportunity to drop the charges if he gets a suspended sentence.

But if Dominique loses the case, a judge could give him a reduced sentence of at least two years and up to seven years for theft. Dominique’s next court appearance is scheduled for May 9 for a hearing on her release from work. He also has a retrial hearing on the postponed judgment scheduled for Dec. 12.

On Tuesday, Judge Ragland considered a plea bargain with Damian.

The plea gave the 18-year-old Damian a chance to move on, albeit with serious consequences. In his petition, he sentenced him to two-and-a-half years in prison for the least serious offense (arms offense) and probation for robbery and human trafficking. If Damien’s probation is revoked upon his release, he could face an estimated eight-and-a-half years in prison (three-and-a-half years for robbery and five years for trafficking). Additionally, Damian is currently on probation in Gila County, so a conviction could affect his probation status in the county.

Prior to sentencing, Judge Ragland asked whether the victims in the case were in favor of the petition. Taking Aim Guns & Ammo owner Steve Mays attended the hearing saying he felt two and a half years in prison was too light for his crimes and worried about his well-being after Damien’s release. said in court that he did.

“I think two and a half years is definitely not enough and it scares me,” Mays said. “What are you going to do when he leaves? What is he going to do after that? I don’t think two and a half years is enough.”

Mays said he feels the sentence should be harsher given the nature of the crime of gun theft.

“Your Excellency, this was not a convenience store robbery,” Ms Mays said. “This is not the beer he stole. This was a firearm.”

Perkins reminded the court that from a legal point of view, robbing a gun store is the same as robbing a convenience store, and both are simply property crimes.

“By law, a convenience store and a gun store are exactly the same when it comes to what’s in there,” Perkins said.

Judge Ragland stayed the petition and ordered the preparation of a pre-judgment report. Probation offices compile pre-sentence reports on defendants and submit sentencing proposals to courts.

Judge Ragland then set a sentencing hearing for May 16 at 8:30 a.m., and Damien will be sentenced if the judge accepts the plea. The petition stipulates two-and-a-half years in prison, but courts decide the length of probation for robbery and trafficking charges.