Radio Shack robber sentenced

A Gardnerville teen was sentenced Monday to 24 to 70 months in prison for the March robbery of Radio Shack at the Carson Mall.

District Judge Michael Griffin followed through with his promise to reject a request for boot camp and send Daniel Matthew Simons, 18, to prison when Simons pleaded guilty in June to robbery.

According to court records, Simons walked into the store around 9 a.m. on March 24 and asked the clerk about speaker wire.

When the only other customer left, Simons pulled a handgun and demanded money from the lone female employee.

After receiving an undisclosed amount of cash Simons fled on foot.

His vehicle was stopped nearby and police found the stolen cash, a pellet gun and speaker wire.

Simons, who admitted using methamphetamine, said he needed the money for his girlfriend.

Simons received credit for serving 130 days in jail.

Also before Griffin on Monday:

• Michael Sean Coyner, 32, was given three years probation with a suspended sentence of 12 to 30 months in prison on a charge of conspiracy to possess a prohibited chemical with the intent to manufacture a controlled substance.

• Josa Barrajas Navarro, 31, was sentenced to three years probation and restitution in the amount of $525 on a charge of possession of stolen property.

• Michael Bruce Roberts, 30, pleaded not guilty to a charge of burglary. A three-and-a-half day trial is set for Sept. 12.

• Justin Snyder, 28, was sentenced to boot camp on a charge of possession of a controlled substance.

• Bismark Venegas-Fonseca, 38, was sentenced to 24 to 72 months in prison on a charge of eluding police. Venegas-Fonseca drove the get-away car during a robbery from a Winnie Lane restaurant. During the chase by police, Venegas-Fonseca wrecked his vehicle at the Mount Rose Junction and a woman was injured. He was given credit for 260 days time served in jail and was ordered to pay restitution in excess of $7,000.