Clearlake man enters not guilty pleas in armed robbery case
- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
LAKEPORT, Calif. – A Clearlake man has pleaded not guilty to numerous charges for an armed robbery at a fast food restaurant last month.
Giovanni Madrigal-Rincon, 19, was in Lake County Superior Court on Tuesday afternoon, at which time his defense attorney, Ed Savin, entered not guilty pleas to all counts and denied all special allegations.
Prosecutor Art Grothe said Madrigal-Rincon is facing 11 counts and three special allegations for the armed robbery, which occurred on March 27 at the Clearlake Jack in the Box restaurant on Dam Road.
Madrigal-Rincon is charged with two counts of kidnapping for the purpose of robbery, three counts of robbery, two counts of kidnapping, three counts of assault with a firearm, one count of resisting or delaying a peace officer, and three special allegations for being armed with a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun, personal use of a firearm and having been released on his own recognizance.
The Clearlake Police Department’s report on the incident said that officers responded to the Jack in the Box just before 2 a.m. March 27 after a lone masked gunman took three employees at gunpoint, forcing one of them to take him to a safe in the building.
The robber took an undisclosed amount of money before fleeing in a silver four-door vehicle, police said.
At around 7 a.m., police located Madrigal-Rincon at a hotel in the city, taking him into custody after a short foot pursuit. At that time, police said he was wearing the same clothes and was in possession of a shotgun that resembled the one used in the robbery.
Police said at the time of Madrigal-Rincon’s arrest, the bulk of the money stolen was not located.
On Tuesday Judge Stephen Hedstrom set Madrigal-Rincon’s preliminary hearing for April 16.
At that time, there also will be coordination and a hearing of another pending case against Madrigal-Rincon, who is charged with discharge of firearm in grossly negligent manner and giving false information to officer in an incident that occurred on Sept. 8, 2016. That case is scheduled for trial on May 16, Grothe said.
Jail records show that Madrigal-Rincon is being held on $2.2 million bail.
On Tuesday, Savin said he wanted a bail study and review, which Hedstrom declined to do at that point, noting it will be up for review in the future.
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