Paroled Addict Gets 31 Years for Robbing Fast-Food Spots

A 29-year-old Sun Valley man was sentenced Tuesday to 31 years, eight months in state prison for robbing several fast-food restaurants in the San Fernando Valley.

San Fernando Superior Court Judge Robert D. Fratianne said he imposed the stiff sentence on Donald John Roque because he was on parole from state prison on a robbery conviction when he held up at least 11 people, most of them fast-food workers, between Dec. 12 and Dec. 27. Fratianne also ordered Roque to pay a $1,500 fine.

Roque was originally charged with one count of attempted murder and 16 counts of robbery. Authorities said Roque shot a gas-station attendant in the knee during a Dec. 27 robbery in Sylmar.

In a plea bargain, the charge of attempted murder was reduced to robbery with great bodily injury, said Los Angeles County Deputy Dist. Atty. Myron L. Jenkins. In exchange, Roque pleaded guilty to 11 counts of robbery.

In a letter to the judge, Roque said he had been unable to control himself because he was addicted to drugs. Roque blamed his parole officer for not interceding when a drug test that he took came back positive. Because drug addiction “took a hold of me, I didn’t stand a chance alone,” Roque said.

But, Fratianne said, “at his age, Mr. Roque should have understood” that drugs are “not a viable reason to commit these crimes and inflict his woes on society.”

Jenkins said Roque will be eligible for parole in 15 1/2 years.