Sibley, Iowa — One of the defendants in the case of four people charged with robbery in Osceola County has taken a plea bargain and has been sentenced.
Court records indicate the four are accused of the armed robbery of an occupied home on Third Avenue in Sibley.
On August 21st, 2016, Osceola County Deputies arrested 35-year-old Jose Manuel Maldonado Castillo and 25-year-old Peter Nazario Alvira, both of Sibley, as well as 55-year-old Pedro Juan Figueroa Rios and 38-year-old Nicomedes Montanez Cruz, both of Sioux City. They were all charged with Robbery of in the 1st Degree, three counts each of Burglary in the 1st Degree, all class B felonies; Going Armed With Intent, a class D felony; and Assault While Participating in a Felony.
Court documents say officers believe that Montanez Cruz and Figueroa Rios were allegedly inside the dwelling while the robbery took place, and officers say they believe the two were aiding and abetting.
While Figueroa Rios’s attorney has filed a motion to suppress evidence in the case, Montanez Cruz accepted a plea bargain on Thursday, November 10th, and has been sentenced.
Montanez Cruz pled guilty to an amended charge of participating as an Accessory to a Felony. Judge Carl Peterson sentenced Montanez Cruz to two years in prison with credit for time served in jail since August 21st, 2016, a $625 fine, and a suspended $625 fine.
According to court records, a hearing for Figueroa Rios’s motion to suppress was pushed back to November 23rd. A hearing on whether to postpone Nazario Alvira’s trial will be that same day. Maldonado Castillo and Nazario Alvira both face a court date on December 9th for plea taking and sentencing.
