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SALT LAKE CITY — A 17-year-old boy has pleaded guilty in juvenile court to his part in four armed gas station robberies with two of his friends.
In the final robbery, police say a clerk was shot despite complying with the boys' orders.
The teen admitted Thursday to two counts of aggravated robbery, both first-degree felonies, while two identical charges were dismissed, according to a Utah State Courts spokesman.
The teen was sentenced the same day to detention in a secure youth facility, where a Youth Parole Authority could potentially hold him until age 21. He was also ordered to complete 500 hours of community service.
The cases of the two remaining teens, including the 16-year-old accused gunman, are ongoing.
The boy accused of shooting the clerk is scheduled to appear in court again Friday. The third boy, who is 17, has a scheduling conference set for June 2.
According to police, the teens carried out three robberies on Jan. 22, brandishing guns, ordering convenience store clerks to empty cash registers and lay on the ground.
On Jan. 23 they are accused of robbing a fourth gas station, an Exxon convenience store at 2187 W. 4700 South.
In that robbery, 21-year-old Maxwell Vanorden opened the cash registers and allowed the teens to take the cash inside, but the 16-year-old told police he shot the clerk twice because "he wasn't listening to me," and "the clerk thought it was a game and wasn't taking them seriously," charging documents state.
Related
Judge unseals charges against teen accused of shooting clerk
Previously sealed charging documents and a juvenile court history have been released for a 16-year-old accused of shooting a compliant convenience store clerk during a robbery last month.However, police said the clerk was in "total compliance" with the teens' demands.
Vanorden was shot once in his left leg, shattering his femur. The second bullet went through his left wrist — shattering it — and then continued into his abdomen, piercing his bladder, according to police and prosecutors.
Police investigating the robberies went to the Magna home of the 17-year-old boy who has pleaded guilty. In the home, search warrant affidavits say police found money and cigarettes believe to have been taken in the Exxon robbery, a handgun, a revolver, a shotgun, ammunition for the handguns and cellphones.
The remaining two teens are charged with four first-degree felony counts of aggravated robbery, and the alleged gunman also faces two counts of felony discharge of a firearm with serious bodily injury, first-degree felonies.
