PHOENIX (AP) - A man accused of stealing $650,000 from a Payson casino during a robbery last summer was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for a related firearms conviction.
Armando Pablo Ochoa of Payson acknowledged in a plea deal Monday that he and another man used guns to rob the Mazatal Casino on the Tonto Apache Indian Reservation in mid-July.
He pleaded guilty to a charge of using a firearm in relation to a crime of violence.
Authorities say Ochoa and Ryan Pearson each fired a round from their handguns inside the casino when employees didn’t immediately open a vault.
Other charges were dismissed against Ochoa.
Pearce is scheduled to be sentenced on April 15 for his guilty plea to possessing a firearm in relation to a crime of violence.
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