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Michael Gomezpolanco, an undocumented immigrant living here illegally, said he planned the Dec. 15, 2012 holdup and drove the other three — two of them 17-year-old sisters — to the Paterson Avenue store.
First they stopped to buy the clothing that they used to disguise their identities, he told a judge in Hackensack yesterday.
Gomezpolanco said he was carrying a BB gun and sisters Jessica and Vanessa Morales each had knives when they entered the restaurant, threatened two employees and a customer and took everything they could — including cash from the register and an iPhone.
Under questioning by Assistant Bergen County Prosecutor Nicole Eiszner, Gomezpolanco admitted that he sold the personal property and shared the proceeds with the Morales sisters — but not with a third accomplice, Whendy Laurencio-Blanco, who was waiting in the car.
The sisters, now 18, each pleaded guilty to robbery charges last week and are facing 7-8 years in state prison, 85% of which they must serve. They will be sentenced sometime in February.
Laurencio-Blanco is awaiting trial in connection with the case. Like Gomezpolanco, she has an extensive record of similar offenses in Union County.
Gomezpolanco, of Hillside, faces 10 years in state prison, 85% of which he must serve under the state No Early Release Act, as a result of the plea agreement.
He’s also about to be sentenced to 12 years for robbery out of Union County, which will run concurrently with yesterday’s sentence.
Gomezpolanco will be deported once he’s served them, Superior Court Judge Edward A. Jerejian said.
“Because you made a plea agreement, you’re facing the minimum of 10 years in prison instead of a much longer term you could have received if you were convicted,” the judge told Gomezpolanco. “You will also testify in any future proceedings that the prosecution requires.”
Sixteen additional charges against Gomezpolanco, including weapons offenses, use of force, conspiracy to commit robbery, and unlawful confinement of the victims, were dropped as part of the plea agreement.
Gomezpolanco has been charged in Union County with robbery, two weapons offenses, kidnapping and coercion, narcotics, and robbery.
STORY / PHOTOS: Mary K. Miraglia, CLIFFVIEW PILOT Courthouse Reporter
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