Two Sweetwater County men face felony-level charges following an alleged armed robbery on Interstate 80 Dec. 7.
Green River resident Jinyi Isaiah Benjamin Martinez, 24, and Rock Springs resident Nicholis Roy Roberson, 24, are being held at the Sweetwater County Detention Center awaiting trial.
Martinez is charged with aggravated robbery, conspiracy to commit a felony, kidnapping and theft greater than $1,000, all of which are felony-level charges. Roberson faces charges of aggravated robbery, conspiracy to commit a felony and kidnapping.
If convicted of all charges, Martinez faces a maximum sentence of 45 years in prison and a $40,000 fine. Roberson faces a maximum sentence of 35 years in prison and a $30,000 fine.
Martinez is being held on a $200,000 cash or surety bond while Roberson is held on a $125,000 cash or surety bond.
According to court documents, the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of an armed robbery at the Cruel Jacks Truck Stop outside of Rock Springs at about 4:12 p.m. Dec. 7.
They met with the alleged victim, Zavion Demon Blue, who reported he had been robbed at gunpoint while traveling and several items were taken from him.
The items he alleged were stolen included a fanny pack containing $10,000 in cash, a bank card, a diamond ring, a diamond necklace with a large cross pendant, and a duffle bag containing his clothing and an additional, undetermined amount of cash.
Blue told investigators he’s originally from Morgan Hills, California, and traveled to Rock Springs to visit his friend Deleani Kunz. She picked him up from the Salt Lake International Airport Dec. 3 and they spent the previous few days together in Rock Springs.
She was originally supposed to drive him to the airport Dec. 7 so he could fly home, but was called in to work at the Bareback Saloon. A friend of Kunz, Shawnee May, arranged a ride to Utah for Blue with two other people they had spent time with, Roberson and Martinez.
Blue rode with Martinez and Roberson in a grey Mazda 6, seated in the back of the car while the other two were in the front.
While they were driving along I-80, Blue alleged Martinez pushed his seat back and pinned his legs. He claimed Martinez then asked him to look for a bag on the floor to distract him.
Blue told investigators after he looked at the floor, he looked back up to see Martinez pointing a black semi-automatic handgun at him, claiming Martinez ordered him to hand over his cash, fanny pack, and necklace, threatening to shoot him if he didn’t comply with his demands.
Blue alleged Roberson pulled out his cell phone and started filming the robbery on Snapchat, narrating it and saying they were robbing a famous person he identified as “Richy Z,” the name Blue uses for his hip hop music.
Blue said he continually tried to unlock the door while the car drove along I-80, but he claimed Roberson kept hitting the master lock button from his seat. Blue also claimed the two discussed what to do with Blue after robbing him, allegedly talking about killing him versus dropping him off somewhere. Blue eventually pleaded with them to let him go and they pulled off the interstate at Exit 99 and stopped at the top of the exit ramp, letting Blue leave the vehicle and walk to the truck stop.
Blue was shown images of Roberson and positively identified him as the driver.
Blue was then transported to the Bareback Saloon to reunite with Kunz. A photo of Martinez was later obtained through social media and Blue identified him as well.
Deputies were unable to locate Martinez or Roberson following the incident. At 8:30 p.m., the sheriff’s office received a call from Kunz claiming she was contacted by Roberson’s girlfriend, Victoria Rodda, who told Kunz she wanted to make things right with Blue and return his belongings. Sheriff’s office Det. Jeff Sheaman returned to the Bareback Saloon and transported Blue to the sheriff’s office for a follow-up interview to clarify details about the incident. Blue was reportedly very nervous, saying he believed Roberson and Martinez were trying to isolate him so they could kill him before he had a chance to report the incident to police.
After the interview, Blue was transported back the Bareback Saloon and Det. Sheaman asked Kunz about the exchange with Rodda. Kunz said Rodda contacted her through Snapchat and claimed she would transport Blue to Rodda’s address on 9th Street in Rock Springs at 2 a.m., Dec. 8, then follow Roberson and Rodda to an unknown address in Green River to meet with Martinez so he could return the items.
Det. Sheaman asked Kunz to ask Rodda if they could meet sooner, with several Snapchat messages being exchanged between the two and Rodda said she didn’t know where Roberson was, assuming he was with Martinez. A search warrant was completed to get a location ping off of Martinez’ cell phone, which allowed the sheriff’s office to isolate the phone’s location to the Green River area. Additional assistance was requested from both the sheriff’s office and the Wyoming Department of Criminal Investigation, which involved deputies and special agents looking for the Mazda 6 used in the alleged crime and watching locations in Rock Springs and Green River. Deputies located the Mazda 6 driving up to a residence on 9th Street in Rock Springs and observed Rodda had walked into the residence.
A short time later, a black pickup truck arrived at the residence, with Roberson walking into the residence. Kunz was asked to keep messaging Rodda, with Rodda’s responses taking longer and longer be received until Rodda messaged that she was feeling sick and was going to sleep.
Martinez was located later that morning, seen leaving a residence on Barnhardt Street in a 2010 Volkswagen Jetta. The vehicle was pulled over and Martinez and May were detained. Martinez agreed to speak with detectives about the investigation, where he claimed he was the driver of the Mazda 6 as he and Roberson were driving Blue to Utah. Martinez also claimed Roberson was the one who pointed the gun at Blue and robbed him, saying he was just as surprised as Blue was when the firearm was brandished.
Martinez also denied touching the gun because he is a convicted felon. Both May and Martinez were arrested following the interview, with May being charged with interference with a peace officer.
Deputies responded to the address on 9th Street and detained Roberson and Rodda, with Roberson agreeing to talk about the incident. Roberson told deputies he drove to Green River to pick up Martinez, then back to Rock Springs to pick up Blue and take him to Utah as a favor to Kunz.
After picking Blue up at Kunz’ residence and stopping briefly at Roberson’s residence on 9th Street so he could grab his wallet, the trio got onto I-80 towards Utah. Roberson said they were between Rock Springs and the Cruel Jacks exit when Martinez asked Blue to grab a Nike bag on the floor.
Roberson then alleged Martinez then pushed his seat back all the way and pulled a gun on Blue, demanding him to hand over a red satchel and his necklace.
Roberson then said he believed Martinez would rob Blue based on how he was holding the gun and his body posturing.
Roberson said he drove facing away from Martinez with his hand raised to protect him from a possible gunshot. Roberson denied using the vehicle’s master lock button to ensure Blue could not leave, but admitted to using Snapchat to narrate a video about a California rapper being robbed.
The allegedly stolen items were recovered after searches were conducted at the residences Martinez and Roberson lived at, with the exception of Blue’s necklace. Roberson said he threw the necklace out of his window while driving along Gateway Boulevard because he thought he was being followed by a Rock Springs Police Department patrol vehicle.
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