Guilty plea nets robber 20 years

Martez Marquis Carrigan
Martez Marquis Carrigan

A man who threatened to shoot a woman after trying to steal her purse in the parking lot of Sam's Club in Texarkana, Texas, was sentenced to 20 years in prison as part of a plea bargain.

Martez Marquis Carrigan, 20, pleaded guilty Friday at a hearing before 102nd District Judge Jeff Addison. As part of a plea agreement, the state, represented by Assistant District Attorney Randle Smolarz, reduced a charge of aggravated robbery to the lesser offense of robbery. The change means Carrigan may be eligible for parole sooner than he would be if sentenced to the same term for aggravated robbery.

The plea came just days before jury selection was scheduled in the case at the Bowie County courthouse in New Boston. Had a jury convicted Carrigan of aggravated robbery he faced the possibility of life in prison.

Carrigan's victim was loading items from a shopping cart into her car when Carrigan ran by and attempted to take her purse from the buggy shortly after 5 p.m., Jan. 9, 2018, according to a probable cause affidavit used to create the following account. Carrigan missed the purse and struggled with the woman over the bag. While wrestling over the purse, Carrigan showed her the grip of a pistol stuck in his waistband and said, "I'll shoot the s*** out of you," the affidavit states.

Video surveillance footage from the store was used to create still photos which were posted on Texarkana, Texas, Police Department's page on Facebook. Someone tipped off police as to Carrigan's identity and he was arrested for aggravated robbery.

A Bowie County grand jury formally indicted Carrigan in August. He will be held in the Bowie County jail until he is transported to Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

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