Man gets 20 years for robbing USC students

LOS ANGELES - A Los Angeles man pleaded no contest Tuesday to robbing four USC students at gunpoint in April before he was shot in the leg by campus police while fleeing.Jeremy Hendricks, 24, pleaded to two counts of second-degree robbery and one count of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and admitted the gun use allegation, said Deputy District Attorney Mario Haidar. He was sentenced by Judge Melissa Widdifield to 20 years in state prison. Haidar said Hendricks approached two male and two female USC students walking along 28th Street on April 18, pulled a gun and demanded all their possessions. Three of the students threw items in his backpack while a fourth student hid behind a car. When the suspect walked away, the students screamed for help and flagged down a USC campus security officer. Hendricks was shot once in the leg during the chase before he was arrested. At the time of his arrest in April, Hendricks was on probation for possession of a deadly weapon. In exchange for his plea, the remaining charges, including attempted robbery, assault with a firearm, possession of a firearm by a felon and carrying a loaded firearm with prior convictions were dismissed.

********** Published: October 4, 2012 - Volume 11 - Issue 25