Robbers ordered to prison for tying up Prosser clerks and stealing cash, phones

Two robbers will serve four-year prison terms after tying up clerks at a Prosser convenience store while stealing money from the cash register.

Adela Valencia-Mendoza, 43, and Alejandro Figueroa Santana, 41, pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree robbery in connection with a February 2025 robbery at the North Prosser Market. Both were sentenced in Benton County Superior Court.

Valencia-Mendoza was armed with a pistol and Figueroa Santana had a long gun when they entered the store on West Johnson Road.

They used electrical cords to tie the ankles and wrists of the two store employees and took the cash. They also grabbed the workers’ phones and took some boxes, at least one of which had rolled coins, court documents said.

Deputies were able to identify Valencia-Mendoza’s white Subaru approaching the store using Flock cameras, court documents said.

The automated license plate reader cameras have come under scrutiny lately, especially after a state law forced departments across the state to shut them off until changes are made.

Investigators tracked the car to First Avenue in Yakima on the same day, where they found Valencia-Mendoza coming out of a building wearing a similar hoodie to what the suspect in the robbery was wearing.

When she spoke to investigators, she admitted to the robbery, but said she used a fake gun.

Benton County sheriff’s deputies found Figueroa Santana two days later in Wapato.