A robber who was pepper-sprayed at the Carlton Gallery in La Jolla was sentenced May 7 to two years in San Diego County jail.
About a dozen family members and supporters of Camron Dale Cash, 23, of Carlsbad, attended the sentencing by San Diego Superior Court Judge Timothy Walsh, who also placed Cash on five years’ probation. Cash had pleaded guilty on March 14 to armed robbery and two counts of grand theft.
Deputy District Attorney Ted Fiorito recommended prison, and the probation department had specifically urged a sentence of four years and four months. Cash agreed to waive his accumulated jail time as a condition of probation.
Cash, who was remanded immediately, was also fined $1,484 and was ordered to pay probation costs set at $1,127. The sheriff’s department said Cash’s projected release is May 4, 2016. Walsh ruled out early release. “The protection of society is attained,” Walsh said. “He’s (essentially) getting the same amount of time if he was sent to state prison.”
Cash wore a mask and brandished a 9-millimeter gun when he committed the robbery on Sept. 18, 2013. Several employees were also robbed before the owner used pepper-spray on Cash. Fiorito said the money was recovered by a police officer, who found a black mask in Cash’s vehicle.
The Carlton Gallery, located at 1144 Prospect St., has sold fine art, jewelry and antiques since 1994.