Jury Disregards “Simple Theft” Argument; 30 Year Prison Sentence

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A Lubbock jury disregarded the defense's arguments claiming a man only committed simple theft, leading to him being sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Back on Friday, May 13th, 38-year-old Joshua Gilder was found guilty of aggravated robbery.

KAMC News reports that back in August of 2017, 2 men posed as police officers and robbed a game room just south of Lubbock. During the robbery, one of the suspects pointed a gun at an employee.

Gilder and another man, 39-year-old Christopher Payne, were identified as the robbers. A 3rd suspect, 31-year-old Javier Rodriguez, admitted that he was the employee who let the suspects into the game room, having prior knowledge of their plan.

Prosecutors argued in Gilder's trial that the victim had a gun waved in her face, and it was even caught on video. While Gilder wasn't the man with the gun, prosecutors said that he directed Payne and the victim on what to do. Because Gilder never actually had a weapon, the defense argued that this was just a theft case for Gilder.

The jury only deliberated for an hour before coming back with their guilty verdict.

On Monday, June 27th, Gilder was sentenced to 30 years in prison for aggravated robbery.