Castroville man pleads no contest to robbing Nick’s Highway Market and burglarizing Marina Club

A Castroville man pleaded no contest on Monday to charges relating to the robbery of Nick’s Highway Market and burglarizing the Marina Club. The District Attorney’s Office said the suspect admitted that the burglary was committed to benefit the Norteno gang.

The robbery happened in June 2018. The District Attorney’s Office said 27-year-old Vincent Jaquez and two others went into Nick’s Highway Market in Castroville with guns drawn. The DA’s office said the three hid their identities by wearing hooded sweatshirts, pants, gloves and ski masks. Jaquez allegedly pistol-whipped a customer and stole more than $60,000 in cash and California Lottery tickets.

The lottery tickets were reported stolen, and investigators found out that the tickets were cashed at two locations in Salinas. They said surveillance footage showed Jaquez with the stolen tickets at both locations.

In May 2019, the DA’s office said Jaquez and two North Side Castroville Norteno Gang members used crow bars to break into the Marina Club in the city of Marina. Investigators said an ATM was stolen, and surveillance footage showed the suspects hid their identities with hooded jackets, pants, gloves and masks. They said Jaquez was seen later abandoning the getaway vehicle that was stolen from William’s Roofing yard in Castroville.

Jaquez will be sentenced in September and is facing 14 years in prison. The pleas constitute two strikes under California’s three-strikes law.