Man, 19, Sentenced To Life In Prison For Slashing Clerk's Throat In Cigar Shop Robbery
TORRANCE (CBSLA.com) — A 19-year-old man convicted of robbing a Manhattan Beach cigar shop and slashing an employee's throat was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
Tyler Lee Rodgers, of Los Angeles, was found guilty of one count each of attempted murder, kidnapping for robbery and robbery for the August 16, 2012 attack at The Cigar and Smoke Shop on Artesia Boulevard.
Torrance Superior Court Judge Mark Arnold made the ruling June 10 after Rodgers waived his right to a jury trial, according to City News Service.
Deputy District Attorney Ethan Milius said Rodgers pulled a gun out of a cardboard box and demanded money from clerk Naveed Mirza during the attack.
Rodgers handcuffed the victim in a back room while he took money from a cash box, Milius said. Prosecutors claimed he then came back and sliced the employee's throat with a knife, stabbed the victim and tried to strangle him with a wire.
Mirza was required to undergo surgery and extensive physical therapy after the incident.
Rodgers was arrested eight days later on August 24.
He also had a residential burglary conviction for breaking into a Torrance home two months prior and a robbery conviction as a juvenile.
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