A local man has been sentenced in the June 2018 robbery of a convenience store in southeast Albuquerque, according to U.S. Justice Department and FBI news releases.
Samuel Perez, 34, of Albuquerque, was sentenced Sept. 22 in federal court to seven years on charges of using, carrying and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. Perez's sentencing followed his guilty plea in January, according to a Justice Department news release issued Oct. 8.
Perez's co-defendant Jared Barnhill plead guilty in March of last year to interference with interstate commerce by robbery and violence, and was sentenced in January to 18 years in prison.
After he completes his sentence, Perez will be subject to three years supervised release.
Another co-defendant, Jeyden Barnhill, plead guilty in March 2019, about seven months after his arrest, to interference with interstate commerce by robbery and violence. He was sentenced the following February to three years and 10 months in prison.
Neither Perez nor Jeyden Barnhill appear to be in federal custody, according to an online federal inmate search. Jared Barnhill is recorded as being housed at the Florence medium security federal correctional institute with a release date of Sept. 25, 2036, while Jeyden Barnhill .
Sentencing of the three followed a plea agreement, in which Perez admitted he and an accomplice entered the store, brandished a gun and demanded money and merchandise from an employee.
The three were among 20 arrested in March 2019 on state narcotics and firearms charges, according to an FBI news release at the time.
In addition to the arrest, officers from multiple law enforcement agencies "seized significant quantities of illegal drugs and weapons," including firearms, stolen vehicles, about 1.5 pounds of methamphetamine and a pound of heroin.
Jeyden Barnhill, then 24, and Perez, 31, were arrested on a federal criminal complaint of armed robbery of a business engaged in interstate commerce, carjacking and firearms offenses.
A detainer was filed against Jared Barnhill, then 28, on similar charges as he was already in state custody.
The FBI and Albuquerque Police Department were among the law enforcement bodies that took part in the investigation.