On Thursday afternoon, October 12, 2017, JUAN C. RODRIGUEZ, d/o/b 07-17-1998, formerly of Candelaria, Puerto Rico, was sentenced to ten (10) years in prison for the class A felony of robbery in the first degree, in the Circuit Court of Taney County. Judge Eric Eighmy sentenced Rodriguez after hearing arguments from the defendant and the Taney County Prosecutor’s Office

Rodriguez entered his guilty plea on July 20, 2017 and admitted to robbing the Dalton’s Express in Branson late last year with two other individuals – Jorge Ortez-Velez and Chris Borges-Besares. The trio entered the Dalton’s Express store with loaded guns and threatened the clerk and a customer in the business. They made off with $502 in cash and were caught a short time later thanks to the quick response of the Branson Police Department.

Sentencing is pending on Borges-Besares and Ortez-Velez, both of whom entered guilty pleas on earlier dates. Borges-Besares is set for October 26, while Ortez-Velez is set to be sentenced on January 2, 2018.