Man sentenced to prison after downtown robbery of $27
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IDAHO FALLS – A man was sentenced Monday after being charged with the robbery of a man in downtown Idaho Falls.
Hernan Cortes, 29, was sentenced by District Judge Dane Watkins Jr. to two years fixed and eight years indeterminate in prison.
Cortes accepted a plea agreement, where he pleaded guilty to felony robbery, and two amended charges of misdemeanor assault. The prosecution agreed to dismiss a separate misdemeanor battery charge in a different case.
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According to court documents, Idaho Falls Police responded to a possible robbery around 3 a.m. on March 19.
An employee at a downtown Idaho Falls business told police he was taking out the trash in the alley when a man, identified as Cortes, approached him and said, “what do you have on you?”
The victim said he didn’t have any money, and Cortes responded that he had a gun, according to the police report.
The victim told police that he “observed (Cortes’) hand was in his pocket, making it appear as if (Cortes) did in fact have a gun.”
Cortes was reportedly “acting paranoid” and told the victim he was a “gangster from California,” according to court documents.
The victim gave Cortes $27 in cash from his wallet, and Cortes threatened to shoot the man if he called the police.
Cortes also apparently “fist-bumped” the man during the robbery.
Officers located video footage of Cortes at a nearby hotel, asking the clerk for a room. The clerk told police that he was declined a room because it was too late and that Cortes “fist-bumped” him before leaving.
The next day, officers were alerted that Cortes was trying to check into a men’s shelter. Cortes was detained and interviewed by officers, where he told them he had been homeless for the last two weeks, according to the police report.
When asked about the robbery, Cortes said he has “mental health issues, and every day seems the same.” He also told officers that he didn’t remember much from the night and refused to speak further without an attorney.