Ho-Ho-Hold Up: Christmas convenience store robbers head to federal prison

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Two Corpus Christi residents have been sentenced for a string of aggravated robberies, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.

Jonathan Stein, 20, and Alvaro Martinez, 21, pleaded guilty Aug. 4.

U.S. District Judge Davis S. Morales has now imposed a 96-month term of imprisonment for Stein, while Martinez received 68 months. Both must also serve three years of supervised release following their sentences. At the hearing, the court heard additional evidence detailing the robberies committed on Christmas Day and in the days that followed. In handing down the sentences, Judge Morales noted the seriousness of the offenses and the fear and danger their actions caused the victims.

Between Dec. 25 and 27, 2024, Stein and Martinez worked together to rob three Stripes convenience stores in Corpus Christi.

Surveillance footage showed Stein entering a Stripes convenience store on Airline Road Dec. 25. He was wearing a red and grey ski mask and brandished a firearm with an attached drum magazine while demanding money from the cashier.

Approximately two days later, he robbed another Stripes in a similar manner. Martinez provided the firearm and acted as the getaway driver.

Authorities uncovered a photograph of Martinez posing with a firearm and a large amount of cash. That firearm matched the one used in the robberies. Inside his vehicle, they located the firearm, along with a red-and-black mask matching the one used in the robberies.

Both men were permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Corpus Christi Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley Martin prosecuted the case.