By Juan Garcia Urrutia
SACRAMENTO – On May 7, 2020, the Sacramento Superior Court heard two settlement hearings for two Sacramento men. Both men submitted pleas of no contest and were subsequently granted probation.
Both men were being convicted of felony charges. Bontemps was convicted of second-degree robbery while Tejada was convicted of willfully and unlawfully owning an armed firearm.
On February 5, 2020, Bontemps entered a convenience store in the Citrus Heights area of Sacramento County where he pulled out an airsoft gun and threatened the store owner and demanded money. As he entered the store, the defendant triggered the silent security alarm which alerted police of the incident. Bontemps left the store with money, the victim’s cell phone and a cigarette pack. A few minutes after the robbery, Bontemps was stopped by law enforcement and taken into custody. Officers found the money, the victim’s cell phone and an unopened cigarette pack as well as a small amount of methamphetamine.
Apart from being charged with the second-degree felony robbery, Bontemps was also charged with misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance.
On February 19, 2020, law enforcement officers entered the home of Tejada after obtaining a warrant under a previous felony charge where Tejada was accused of vehicle theft in San Diego County.
Once inside the home, the officers found a red toolbox and uncovered a loaded .32 caliber handgun.
Bontemps reached a plea deal with the prosecution and pleaded no contest to the felony robbery charged. As part of the deal, Bontemps would have to spend 364 days in custody and be required to do five years of probation.
The judge dismissed the misdemeanor charge for the possession of methamphetamine.
The judge warned Bontemps that this conviction would go onto his record as a strike within California’s three-strike framework. If Bontemps were to be convicted of two more felony counts, he would have to spend 25 years to life in prison.
As for Tejada, he also reached a plea deal with the prosecution. Tejada pleaded no contest for the felony charge of willingly and unlawfully owning an armed firearm.
The defendant was sentenced to 180 days in custody and placed to five years of probation.
The judge dismissed two other counts Tejada was being charged for. One felony count for unlawfully possessing ammunition and one misdemeanor count for possession of a controlled substance.
The judge also made it clear that Tejada would not be allowed to possess any type of firearms or ammunition.
The defendant was also charged with a $300 fine which was converted into 9 days in custody and counted concurrently with the 180 days.
Because Tejada had already completed 79 days in custody he was granted 78 of good time and would only be asked to serve 11 more days.
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