Teen gets 3-year prison term for robbing Kennewick coffee shop

A 17-year-old boy has been sentenced to three years in prison for taking about $40 at knifepoint from a Kennewick coffee shop.

David Padilla Sanchez pleaded guilty in Benton County Superior Court to first-degree robbery for the Nov. 29 incident.

He was tried as an adult because his age and the crime automatically bumped it up from Juvenile Court.

Deputy Prosecutor Julie Long said the three-year term was appropriate, noting that she could have filed a deadly weapon enhancement which would have added a mandatory two years to the sentence.

Padilla Sanchez faced between two years and seven months to three years and five months.

“I just hope that this is the last time that we see him,” Long said in court.

Padilla Sanchez walked into Roasters Coffee at 1:50 p.m. and picked up the tip jar that was on the counter of the 2000 N. Columbia Center Blvd. business.

When confronted by a store employee, Padilla Sanchez pulled out a 4-inch blade, court documents said.

Padilla Sanchez ran away but was seen a short time later at the nearby Kohl’s store, where he changed his clothes. He was found across the parking lot at the Jack in the Box restaurant.

The suspect dropped his cellphone at Roasters during the robbery.

Padilla Sanchez told Kennewick police the phone belonged to him, but denied taking the money. However, the employee identified him as the robber.

Judge Alex Ekstrom noted that a robbery conviction is a big step up from Padilla Sanchez’s criminal history, and told the teen to “think long and hard” because often that crime can lead to serious injury or even death.

Padilla Sanchez, when asked if he wanted to comment, said, “I’m good.”

He will be held at a juvenile facility until he turns 18 in October, then he will be transferred to an adult institution.

This story was originally published February 28, 2016 at 10:18 PM with the headline "Teen gets 3-year prison term for robbing Kennewick coffee shop."