Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Bobby Lee Vandiver, 32, of Tucumcari was sentenced Wednesday in 10th Judicial District Court to 10 years in prison for shooting a man on the west side of Tucumcari last summer, prompting the closure of Route 66 for hours.
Vandiver pleaded guilty to aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, resisting an officer, battery and possession of a firearm by a felon in a plea agreement. Charges of armed robbery, aggravated burglary with a deadly weapon and conspiracy to commit armed robbery were dismissed.
District Attorney Tim Rose stated in an email Friday that Vandiver received a 12-year sentence, with two years suspended. Vandiver also faces two years of parole after his release.
“His sentence included enhancements for being a habitual offender and for committing a felony with a firearm,” Rose stated.
The court declared Vandiver as a habitual offender because he was convicted of robbery in 2009 and possession of a controlled substance in 2016.
Vandiver’s case was scheduled to go to trial next month.
According to Quay County Correction Center logs, Vandiver was transferred to the Department of Corrections on Thursday.
On July 24, Tucumcari officers went to a report of a shooting at a motel in the 800 block of West Route 66. The shooting victim was taken to Trigg Memorial Hospital in Tucumcari and airlifted to an Amarillo hospital. The plea agreement also stated Vandiver kicked the victim.
Vandiver was arrested after an eight-hour search and blockade by law-enforcement agencies, including a lockdown of nearby Mesalands Community College and the closing of Route 66.
Attempts to reach Vandiver’s lawyer, public defender Anna Aragon, for comment were unsuccessful.
Joseph Quintana, 31, another suspect involved in the July shooting, was apprehended after a days-long manhunt.
Quintana will be sentenced Feb. 27. According to court records, Quintana accepted a plea deal to plead guilty to attempted aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
Other charges of aggravated burglary, conspiracy to commit armed robbery and conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary were dismissed.
According to court filings, the prosecutor recommended 18 months of probation for Quintana. Prosecutors listed Quintana as one of their witnesses had Vandiver’s case gone to trial.