Francisco Xavier Rodriguez has been certified to stand trial as an adult on felony robbery charges.

Fred W. Wellman, Mower County Third Judicial District Court judge issued the order certifying Rodriguez could stand trial as an adult Friday.

"We believe this juvenile was very culpable in the commission of the armed robbery," said Jonathan Olson, chief deputy prosecutor for the Mower County Attorney's Office.

According to Olson, the youth's use of a weapon -- a brick -- helped make a compelling argument for the court to hear.

Rodriguez's date of birth was

Nov. 26, 1985, making him 16 years old when Budget Oil was robbed at gunpoint April 23.

The robbery was captured on the store's surveillance tape and showed three males involved in the crime.

One of the males brandished a chrome-plated handgun at the store clerk, while the other two males, one carrying a brick, took money from the cash drawer and lottery tickets, plus cartons of cigarettes and rolls of quarters.

Both the store clerk and four eyewitnesses to the crime identified the perpetrators as Hispanic males, according to court documents.

Some of the eyewitnesses followed the subjects as they made their way into northeast Austin along Second Avenue Northeast to Sixth Street and then north.

An inmate of the Mower County Jail tipped police to one of the possible robbery suspects, who used the nickname "Poncho."

Police later learned Poncho's true identify was Rodriguez, who lived on Second Avenue NE.

An acquaintance of Rodriguez's came to the police station and told officers she had driven the man to his residence.

Two police detectives and two police officers went to the residence. Rodriguez was found in a bedroom hiding under a bed. Rodriguez and another person were taking into custody as suspects in the robbery after the raid on the northeast Austin apartment. Another person at the apartment was taken into custody with them.

At the Austin-Mower County Law Enforcement Center, a female acquainted with the suspects positively identified the men as the Budget Oil robbers, when shown the store's surveillance tape.

Rodriguez was interviewed by police and confessed he and two others robbed the business.

The owner of the business confirmed to police that $620 in cash, three to six cartons of cigarettes and 24 lottery tickets were taken in the April 21 robbery.

The store clerk was uninjured.

Olson sought to have the juvenile tried as an adult with his accomplices. District Judge Wellman heard testimony from court-appointed psychologist, correctional services witnesses, an advocate from the public defenders office and juvenile placement program specialist acquainted with Rodriguez in New Mexico by a conference telephone call at the July 17 certification hearing.

Matt Arthurs, Rochester, a public defender, argued on behalf of the Rodriguez.

Now, Olson is preparing to begin the process of filing charges against Rodriguez as an adult

Capt. Curt Rude of the Austin Police Department formally petitioned the court to certify the juvenile to stand trial as adult.

Rodriguez now faces charges of one count aggravated robbery in the first degree, a serious felony and one count of aiding and abetting aggravated robbery in the first degree, also a serious felony.

Rodriguez was taken into custody

April 26 and held pending the certification hearing.

He remains in the Mower County jail, pending a court appearance as an adult and arraignment on the robbery charges.

The other robbery suspects remain in the Mower County Jail.

Lee Bonorden can be contacted at 434-2232 or by e-mail at :mailto:lee.bonorden@austindailyherald.com