A man who shot an Oceanside convenience store clerk and weeks later took part in another armed holdup in Escondido was sentenced this week to 30 years in state prison.
Hans Nanduca, 22, shot an AM/PM clerk in the abdomen during a robbery, according to the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office. The clerk survived his injuries.
Prosecutors say two weeks later Nanduca was an accomplice in a holdup at an Escondido business in which a gun was also fired.
That gun, which prosecutors say was an unserialized “ghost gun,” was connected to the shootings through cartridge casings found at both crime scenes.
Nanduca pleaded guilty to assault with a semi-automatic firearm in both cases, as well as attempted robbery in the Escondido case. He also admitted allegations of personally using a firearm and having a prior strike conviction.
The D.A.’s office said at the time of the crimes, Nanduca was on probation for carjacking while armed with a knife and reckless driving.
San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan called the result “a lengthy and well-deserved sentence” and said in a statement, “This defendant’s violent crimes nearly took the lives of innocent people who were working hard at local businesses.”