A Fargo man who led police on a high-speed chase after an attempted armed robbery in May pleaded guilty to the episode Wednesday in Cass County District Court.
Timothy Allan Salazar, 22, told Judge Frank Racek he had no idea why his friends wanted money from a south Fargo man who told police he was tortured in his garage.
"I was just driving, your honor," Salazar said.
Racek sentenced Salazar to three years in prison for being an accomplice to robbery and reckless endangerment. Salazar also received shorter, concurrent sentences for trying to elude police and for driving with a suspended license.
Prosecutors have also charged Jaime Serena, 27, and Raul Rendon, 23, both of Moorhead, in the incident. Assistant State's Attorney Trent Mahler said the three were trying to collect a debt from the roommate of a man who had left town.
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Police said the men took the resident to his garage at 3440 39th Ave. S., put a pistol in his mouth and squeezed his fingers with pliers to get money from him. The victim told his girlfriend to call police while going to get money from a bedroom safe.
The attackers soon heard sirens and took off in a truck, crossing into Moorhead before returning to Fargo. Police caught the suspects after they left the truck in north Fargo.
In court Wednesday, Salazar told Racek he has known Rendon and Serena all his life but did not know why one of them was owed money. Serena told an officer after his arrest that Rendon was collecting money for 7 pounds of meth, court records say.
Salazar has said he never touched a gun, and his lawyer said there was no evidence to suggest he did. A federal grand jury has also indicted Salazar on a felony gun charge that carries a minimum sentence of five years in prison, said defense attorney Monty Mertz.
"I just want to get this part of my life over with," Salazar told Racek.
Serena's and Rendon's cases are still pending.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Dave Forster at (701) 241-5538
