Lubbock armed robber who crashed vehicle into apartment handed 21-year prison sentence

U.S. District Judge James Hendrix told Jaden Tipton that a 255 month prison sentence prison sentence was necessary to protect the community from him.

"This conduct and that crime spree should result in very serious consequences," he told Tipton. "Because of what it did to the victims and what it will do."

Tipton faced up to 54 years in federal prison after pleading guilty in February to two counts of affecting commerce by robbery and two counts of brandishing a firearm in the furtherance of a crime of violence.

A presentencing report provided to the court recommended a sentence between 70 and 87 months in prison for each of the robbery counts.

At the end of the hearing, Hendrix handed two 87-month sentences to Tipton for the robbery counts to run concurrently and two 84-month sentences to run consecutively.

Tipton also faces state counts of aggravated robbery, evading arrest and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.

Tipton's charges stem from a July 10, 2023, arrest in the 2900 block of Vicksburg Avenue where he crashed his vehicle after a high-speed pursuit with Lubbock patrol officers on the lookout for a Dodge Charger that was involved in two armed robberies earlier that night.

Lubbock police initially responded to a robbery about 1:50 a.m. at a 7-Eleven in the 2900 block of Fourth Street.

A store clerk told police that a man wearing a mask arrived in a blue Dodge Charger, entered the store, brandished a handgun, which he racked before pointing at her head and demanded money. The employee gave him the money and left.

About an hour later, police responded to a second armed robbery at the Murphy's gas station near the intersection of Indiana Avenue and 34th Street.

Patrol officers spoke with the store employee, who said a man driving a blue Dodge Charger entered the store, bought $15 worth of fuel and left to fuel his vehicle.

The man, later identified as Tipton, returned to the store, picked up a few food items and lined up behind the register to pay. However, the customer before him had trouble paying and Tipton removed a handgun from his waistband, chambered a round, pointed it at her and demanded all the money in the register.

Again, Tipton was given money, but he also jumped over the counter and took several cartons of cigarettes before leaving the store.

Patrol officers responding to the scene spotted Tipton's vehicle and attempted to stop it. However, Tipton sped away with the officer's giving chase.

Federal prosecutor Stephen Rancourt, told the court that the vehicle chase reached speeds up to 100 mph before it ended in the 2900 block of Vicksburg where Tipton crashed into an apartment bedroom where two people slept.

Rancourt told the court that the couple were pinned against the wall by Tipton's vehicle. The man suffered a dislocated hip, while the woman suffered a severe concussion.

Meanwhile, officers arrested Tipton as he exited his vehicle.

Rancourt told the court that Tipton would later tell an ATF agent investigating the case that after crashing his vehicle and seeing the trapped couple, his immediate thoughts were of engaging in a shootout with police.

"(Tipton) told the ATF agent that in his mind, 'I've got to get away. I always get away," Rancourt said.

Evidence of the mayhem Tipton left in his wake was presented to the court in the form of victim letters Rancourt read during the hearing.

The 7-Eleven employee told the court that Tipton's actions "uprooted my entire life and sent my mental state spiraling."

She said she's still woken up by nightmares and struggles at work, saying she perceives as a threat anyone wearing a facemask.

The clerk who worked at the Murphy's store appeared briefly in court, hoping to confront Tipton in person. However, she became overwhelmed and left the courthouse in tears before Tipton's case was called.

In her letter, also read by Rancourt, she said she still struggles with panic attacks, anxiety and insomnia.

"It took me several months to finally fall asleep at night," she wrote.

However, her hard fought slumber was often interrupted by the memories of that night.

"I wake up from night terrors, seeing that whole experience replaying in my mind, hearing that bullet going into the chamber," she wrote.

In her letter she wanted to ask Tipton if pointing a gun in her face was worth the $500 he stole.

Meanwhile, Rancourt said the couple whose bedroom Tipton crashed in were ruined financially by his actions.

He said the woman spent weeks in the hospital and the couple racked up tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills they were unable to pay.

"They are living on the outskirts of poverty,' Rancourt said.

The couple were also out of their apartment for about six to seven weeks while it was being repaired. However, Rancourt told the court that the couple's landlord didn't suspend their rent while they were out and even raised it once they moved back in, which resulted in their eviction.

In court, Tipton apologized to his victims.

"I am terribly sorry for the pain I caused you," he said.

He told the court he didn't intend to harm anyone that night, but said drugs clouded his judgement.

Tipton said he hoped to use his time in prison to improve himself. He said he hopes to learn a trade and earn degrees in business and psychology.

His attorney, Sarah Gunter, told the court that in her meetings with him, his main focus was always on the people he's hurt and fixing himself.

She said Tipton had struggled with drug addiction and an undiagnosed bi-polar disorder. However, he is now seeking treatment for his condition, which has also help him maintain sobriety.

Gunter, who supported the government's recommended 255-month sentence, said she believed her client has hit rock bottom and is on a path to become a productive member of society.

Rancourt argued to the court that while Tipton's background was compelling, he didn't deserve leniency saying his actions that night ruined people emotionally, physically and financially.

He told the court that most people in Tipton's situation don't wake up one day deciding to rob a store. However, he said Tipton told investigators that's what he set out to do that day.

Rancourt said a 255 month sentence will protect the public from Tipton.

"Removing this defendant from society in his 20s and 30s (the age when people are still impulsive)… it's not only just but it's necessary," he said. "He is incapable of regulating himself. For the sake of the victims in this case and future victims and the community, Jaden Tipton needs to be removed from it for as long as possible."

Tipton's criminal history, which was discussed during the hearing, was a crucial element in the 21-year prison sentence.

Hendrix told Tipton that his criminal history, which began when he was 12, shows that his actions the night of the robberies weren't a one-off event but represented a pattern of escalating violence that requires a lengthy sentence that protects the community from him.

"These decisions follow a string of very bad and violent decisions," he said.

As a juvenile, Tipton was arrested for burglaries, evading arrest and unauthorized use of a vehicle.

As an adult, Tipton was convicted of attempted unauthorized use of a vehicle and a misdemeanor criminal mischief charge during which he struck another vehicle while speeding and bragged about it.

He told Tipton that his new charges should come to the surprise of no one.

"This is the path you were on," he said.

Hendrix told Tipton he appreciated his contrition and newfound sobriety and said he hoped he continues on the path he's on. But he said he couldn't ignore the facts before him or the victims, who he said were harmed "beyond measure."

"Today is about consequences for choices," he told Tipton. "You have a very heavy price to pay for those. Regardless of why you did those things your conduct will affect them for the rest of their lives."

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Lubbock armed robber who crashed vehicle into apartment handed 21-year prison sentence