Man who held up Lubbock family in home invasion robbery, stole car gets 15 years
A 20-year-old man was sentenced this week to 15 years in prison for his role in a home-invasion robbery during which a Central Lubbock family was robbed of their vehicle at gunpoint.
Darron Emerson, who has been held at the Lubbock County Detention Center since April 26, 2022, pleaded guilty to a first-degree felony count of aggravated robbery as part of plea deal with the Lubbock County District Attorney's Office.
He faced five years to life in prison.
He is one of two people Lubbock police investigators believe terrorized a family during a home invasion robbery in Central Lubbock.
Laradian Wheeler, 21, also faces a count of aggravated robbery for his alleged role in the case.
Their charges stem from a Lubbock police investigation into an April 23, 2022, robbery at a home in the 2400 block of 46th Street. Responding officers arrived about 4:45 p.m. and met a couple who told police that two men drove away with their vehicle after they entered their home and demanded at gunpoint the keys to their car.
A father told responding officers that he was in the backyard of the home having a cookout and talking on his cell phone when two people entered the backyard, aimed a rifle at his face and demanded the keys to his vehicle, a Dodge Charger, according to a police report.
He said he told the men his keys were inside his home and they stole his phone and other belongings. He said he didn't want the robbers to enter his home fearing for his children's safety, so he had them wait outside while he brought them the keys to his vehicle.
However, the man's wife said she was in their kitchen, washing dishes when she heard the back door open. She turned around and saw one of the robbers, armed with the firearm standing in the doorway, telling her to get the keys to the vehicle.
The woman said the robber didn't aim his weapon at her. However, she said the robber aimed his weapon at her children, who were 2 and 4 years old at the time, when they walked in from the living room.
She said the robbers got the keys to the vehicle and drove it away.
The woman said she believed the robbers saw them arrive at their home hours before. She told officers their vehicle may have caught the men's attention because of the Charger's loud engine noise.
The family was not injured but the children were terrified by the experience and did not want to leave the home and speak with the officers, the report states.
Lubbock police found the family's vehicle shortly after in a parking lot in the 2400 block of 45th Street.
Emerson, who had no prior felony convictions, was arrested three days later on an unrelated aggravated assault charge. However, as police were investigating him on that offense, they found the key fob for the stolen Charger.
Emerson also pleaded guilty on Tuesday to two separate misdemeanor counts of domestic assault in exchange for time served. A count of causing intentional injury to child, the elderly or disabled causing bodily injury was dismissed.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Man who held up Lubbock family in home invasion robbery gets 15 years
