Significant sentence handed to Corpus resident for Stripes robbery and bystander shooting

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - A 22-year-old Corpus Christi man has been sentenced for the robbery and shooting at a Stripes convenience store, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Jose Valdez pleaded guilty April 29.

U.S. District Judge David S. Morales has now ordered Valdez to serve 51 months in federal prison for the robbery as well as a consecutive 120 months for the shooting. His total 171-month sentence will be immediately followed by five years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court heard additional testimony from the victim of the shooting, who testified about lingering effects of his injury more than a year later. In handing down the sentence, the court noted that the crimes Valdez committed were some of the most serious crimes the federal court considers.

"The Stripes store is a Corpus Christi original, a place patrons can find gas, a quick snack and a clerk's welcoming words. No one, however, should ever have to find themselves at the wrong end of a violent criminal's gun, turning those patrons into victims," said Hamdani. "Today' s sentence represents how multiple lives were put at risk only because they happened to cross paths with Jose Valdez and his gun at a local Stripes."

On June 29, 2023, Valdez approached a Stripes convenience store on Port Street in Corpus Christi at approximately 6:40 a.m. carrying a handgun into the store. Valdez entered, pointed the gun at the clerk and demanded money from the cash register. At the same time, three customers entered the store and observed the robbery taking place.

Valdez ordered them to leave. As they were exiting the store, he shot one of the men in the leg. All three men exited with the two uninjured men taking the third to the hospital for treatment. Valdez turned back to the clerk and demanded she empty all the registers in the store. Valdez took the money, ran out of the store, got into a silver car and drove away.

Law enforcement had ongoing investigations on other aggravated robberies in Corpus Christi and identified Valdez from the Stripes surveillance footage.

He will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case along with assistance from the Corpus Christi Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley Martin prosecuted the case.