GILROY
– One of two men who admittedly beat, robbed and brandished a
kitchen knife at a local cigarette store clerk on May 27 is
expected to serve seven years in prison, according to a deputy
district attorney.
GILROY – One of two men who admittedly beat, robbed and brandished a kitchen knife at a local cigarette store clerk on May 27 is expected to serve seven years in prison, according to a deputy district attorney.
Kofi Deonbi, of the San Francisco area, pleaded guilty on Oct. 22 to two counts of robbery and one count of assault with a deadly weapon in regard to two cigarette store robberies in May: one here and one in Campbell. He is scheduled for sentencing on Dec. 12 in San Jose, and DDA Kevin Smith said Judge Hugh Mullin III will sentence him to seven years.
Deonbi’s alleged partner in crime, Samuel Jones, is currently at large after skipping bail for a subsequent solo robbery in San Francisco, according to Smith. San Francisco police arrested Jones for that robbery after he led them on a chase, shortly after the Gilroy robbery. Jones posted bail but never appeared in court.
The Gilroy robbery took place at Cigarettes for Less, at 8027 Wayland Ave. near First Street. Deonbi and his partner allegedly hit the 44-year-old female clerk, who was treated in an area hospital afterward for severe bruising.
Gilroy police arrested Deonbi minutes afterward when Cpl. Kim Merrill made a flying tackle from his bicycle onto the fleeing Deonbi. Merrill was 54 years old; Deonbi was 20.
