HOT SPRINGS -- A Little Rock man was sentenced to 10 years in prison Wednesday after pleading guilty to an amended felony charge stemming from his robbery of a Hot Springs convenience store last year.
Roderick Steven McClinton, 25, who was set to stand trial Wednesday in Garland County Circuit Court, was initially charged with aggravated robbery, punishable by up to life in prison, but he pleaded guilty to robbery and was sentenced to the maximum of 20 years in prison, with 10 years suspended.
According to the affidavit, on Feb. 26, 2015, around 10:30 p.m., Hot Springs police officers responded to a call from the Valero station at 3228 Central Ave. concerning a robbery that had just occurred.
Two female employees and a male customer said a man had entered the store a few minutes earlier and told them, "This is a robbery." The man walked up to the customer at the counter, shoved an unknown item into his back, and told the employees to give him the money in the cash register.
The man warned them not to hit any alarms or call police or he would shoot the customer in the back. The employees handed the man about $450, and he fled.
One employee said she recognized the robber because he entered the store twice before the robbery. Video footage showed the man entering the store at 8:25 p.m., making a purchase and leaving. He returned 14 minutes before the robbery, made another purchase and left again.
On March 2, Hot Springs police detective Scott Lampinen sent a photo of the robber to various media outlets. He was contacted by a detective with the Little Rock Police Department who said the robber appeared to be McClinton.
The next day, Lampinen obtained recent booking photos of McClinton and positively identified him as the suspect in the robbery. The two employees were shown photo lineups featuring McClinton, and both identified him as the robber.
McClinton was taken into custody on March 10, 2015, and initially held in lieu of $250,000 bond. The bond was later reduced to $50,000 and he was released while he awaited trial.
Metro on 07/31/2016