A 20-year-old Pacoima gang member ,who was shot and wounded last year by undercover Glendale police, was sentenced Monday to 20 years in prison for a seven-month armed robbery spree in the San Fernando Valley.
David Cesar Santos was convicted of six counts of second-degree robbery and one count each of assault on a peace officer and attempted second-degree robbery. Jurors also found true gang and gun allegations, which could have led to a sentence of more than 40 years.
But Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Martin Herscovitz applied the gang allegation to only one of the counts, resulting in the shorter sentence, according to Deputy District Attorney Garrett Dameron.
Before the trial began, co-defendant Christopher Rosalio Morales, 23, pleaded no contest to seven counts of second-degree robbery and one count of attempted second-degree robbery. He was sentenced to 25 years behind bars, according to Dameron.
The two were arrested on June 21, 2011, after Glendale police detectives conducting a surveillance operation in North Hollywood witnessed an armed robbery at Sylvan Street and Colfax Avenue.
They jumped in a Chrysler PT Cruiser after spotting the detectives, and Santos was wounded when police opened fire after he rammed the vehicle into a detective's car. Morales was out on bail for a pending grant theft case at the time of his arrest.
