ST. GEORGE — After a jury found him guilty of all charges, a Georgia man appeared in court to be sentenced for an armed robbery reported last summer at a restaurant on Red Cliffs Drive.
Lazaro Ponce, 45, of Savannah, Georgia, appeared before District Judge Jay Winward to be sentenced for his involvement in the armed robbery at Durango’s Mexican Grill. His charges included a first-degree felony of aggravated robbery, a second-degree felony of receiving a stolen vehicle and disorderly conduct.
After two days of testimony during the three-day trial in November 2022, the jury was excused to begin deliberations, and 57 minutes later they returned a guilty verdict.
The incident in June 2022
Shortly before 10 p.m. on June 3, 2022, an armed robbery was reported at Durango’s Mexican Grill on Red Cliffs Drive in St. George. The reporting party said the suspect was armed and still inside the restaurant.
During the incident, Ponce reportedly told an employee he had a 9 mm handgun and demanded money from the register. After the employee complied, the suspect was tackled by the restaurant manager who held the suspect down until officers, nearly a dozen of them, responded and took the suspect into custody. Officers also recovered more than $1,400 in cash.
Ponce told officers he wanted to press charges against the restaurant based on allegations “he had been jumped and stuck with a gun” while robbing the store, investigators noted in a report.
Investigators also discovered a Toyota key on the scene for a 4-Runner that Ponce had stolen from a rental car agent during an armed robbery in Nevada before making the trip to St. George that same day.
During a subsequent interview with police, Ponce denied robbing the employee and said he had gone into the restaurant and ordered a drink, which is when the cashier handed him cash, he said, adding that he never turns money down.
He was arrested and booked into jail in Washington County and the case was filed. He was formally charged with first-degree felony aggravated robbery and one second-degree felony count of theft of a vehicle.
Both sides weigh in during sentencing
During Tuesday’s sentencing hearing, Washington County Attorney Tyler Bonzo represent the state and defense attorney Nathan Reeve represented Ponce.
Reeve said the facts of the case “are not good” but said that his client did not intend to hurt anyone on the night in question. He asked the court to consider that his client was not armed at the time of the offense.
Reeve said his client “did commit a robbery by pretending that he had a gun, but he never actually had a gun” and asked that his client not be punished for his crimes in Nevada, since his client had yet to be convicted in those cases. He added that extradition arrangements were being made with authorities in Nevada so those cases should be decided there.
Reeve then asked that Ponce be sentenced to serve one year in the county jail with credit for the 10 months his client has already served, instead of a prison sentence.
Meanwhile, the prosecutor said Ponce should be sent to prison based on a number of factors, such as the defendant’s extensive criminal history in Nevada, which resulted in multiple convictions and prison terms and included a conviction in a case that was “incredibly similar” to the robbery in Utah.
The prosecutor explained that hours before the robbery in Utah, Ponce entered a car rental business in Nevada and told the employee he had a gun and would kill him if he didn’t let him take a car.
The employee complied and Ponce “took the car and drove to St. George,” where he walked into Durango’s Mexican Grill and “told a 16-year-old boy that was working at the cash register that he would kill him and everyone else in the store if he didn’t give him the cash,” Bonzo said.
Even after the teen handed over the money, Ponce continued to threaten employees by saying he would return to kill them and that he was part of the Mexican Mafia, Bonzo said.
Ponce had just been released from jail in Nevada on another case less than two weeks prior to coming to St. George. In that case, Bonzo said Ponce “did essentially the same thing” by entering another car rental business, telling the employee he had a gun and threatening to kill him if he didn’t let him take a car.
The prosecutor also said Ponce told agents during the presentence investigation that he committed the robbery “as a matter of survival,” and while he felt “bad” about his actions, he said he also felt justified in his actions.
While awaiting trial on this aggravated robbery case, Ponce picked up an attempted murder case, which, Bonzo said, is a clear indication that Ponce is “a danger to the community and a violent individual.”
“And that hasn’t changed,” Bonzo added.
He closed by saying the defendant’s rehabilitative needs, which are important, are outweighed by the substantial risk he presents to the community.
Incident at Purgatory
The first-degree felony aggravated attempted murder case was filed Dec. 22, 2022, following a brutal beating that took place at Purgatory Correctional Facility. Ponce, who was awaiting trial, reportedly beat an inmate nearly to death.
When the jail command staff found the injured inmate he was unconscious and unresponsive, and beaten to the point that he was struggling to breathe, gasping for air, causing the staff to be “concerned that the victim was going to die due to the state he was found in,” the report states. He was transported to St. George Regional Hospital in critical condition.
Washington County Prosecutor Zachary Weiland told St. George News at the time that the inmate was near death when he arrived at the hospital, where doctors were able to stabilize him enough to treat his injuries, which Weiland said were extensive and included a spinal fracture, broken ribs and other injuries. Hours later, investigators went to the hospital and found that in addition to spinal injury, there was severe swelling on the man’s nose and the left side of his face, and he was bleeding from his left ear.
While jail staff and emergency responders to tending to the severely injured inmate, Ponce was reportedly was heard asking “if the victim was dead.”
Almost — according to investigators — who learned that following the attack, several witnesses said they could hear a man gasping for air. They also learned that several days prior to the incident, Ponce allegedly made a number of statements indicating “he was going to kill someone,” comments that were made to “everyone.”
Investigators arrived at the jail later that same night and sought out Ponce, who appeared to have blood on both of his hands and the sleeves of his long-sleeved undershirt, as well as blood on his shoes. During a search of Ponce’s cell, where the assault reportedly took place, detectives found “a copious amount of blood” along the wall, floor and on the desk area, but when they attempted to speak to the suspect, Ponce said he declined to make any statement without a lawyer present. He was charged with first-degree felony aggravated attempted murder — a charge that is slated for trial later this year.
Ponce addressed the court by saying he was “a victim” of his circumstances.
The ruling
The judge commented prior to the ruling by saying he can appreciate that “life is very tough for lots of people,” adding that the defendant’s behavior and the crimes he committed were “egregious.”
As to the open cases and convictions in Nevada, as well as the open aggravated attempted murder case that is still pending in Utah, Winward said those would not be considered for the purpose of sentencing on the present case.
“But you’re going to prison on this case,” said Winward, who then sentenced Ponce to serve five years to life in Utah State Prison on the aggravated robbery charge and 1-15 years on the second-degree felony charge. He also ordered the sentences to run concurrently and that Ponce receive credit for the more than 200 days he has already served.
The judge closed by saying, “And you’re ordered to begin your incarceration at the Utah State Prison forthwith and remain in Purgatory while you fight your other charge.”
This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
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