San Marcos Man Pleads Guilty to Armed Robbery and Three Carjackings
Brandon Ivan Padilla admitted in federal court that he robbed a smoke shop at gunpoint and stole a customer's vehicle on November 21 2024 in Escondido. The plea sets a sentencing date and triggers mandatory federal prison time plus restitution to the victims.
kpbs.orgSAN DIEGO – Brandon Ivan Padilla of San Marcos pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to one count of armed robbery of a business and three counts of armed carjacking.
Padilla admitted that on November 21 2024 he entered American Smoke Shop in Escondido pointed a firearm at a clerk and demanded cash. The clerk handed over $320. Padilla then held the gun inches from a customer's ear demanded the customer's car keys and cash and drove away in the victim's vehicle after the customer complied.
The Department of Justice release states Padilla committed three additional armed carjackings on separate occasions all involving the display and threat of a firearm.
The charges carry a statutory maximum of life in prison though sentencing will follow federal guidelines that account for multiple victims and firearm use. Padilla must also pay full restitution to the smoke shop the robbed customer and the three carjacking victims. The court has not yet set a sentencing date.
The plea resolves all counts in the indictment returned by a grand jury in the Southern District of California. Federal prosecutors must now submit a sentencing memorandum that calculates Padilla's guideline range based on the specific robbery and carjacking enhancements listed in the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
The judge will determine the final term of imprisonment restitution amount and any supervised release conditions at sentencing.
This case forms part of routine federal prosecution of violent crimes involving firearms in the Southern District of California. The November 21 2024 robbery and carjacking occurred at a single location within San Diego County which falls under federal jurisdiction because of the interstate nexus of the stolen vehicle and the firearm.
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