A Utah man was convicted Tuesday by a federal jury in San Diego for a violent armed robbery at a Carlsbad motel last summer.
A man and a woman walked into the lobby of the Motel 6 on Paseo del Norte at around 10 a.m. on July 9, 2018 and demanded a free room.
The male suspect then brandished a handgun and demanded cash from a female employee, who he struck in the head with the gun.
Police say the man's gun went off during the altercation.
He then stole the woman's keys and the pair fled the property in her 2017 white Toyota Corolla.
Two days later, Lance Lamont Lavert, 37 of Salt Lake City, Utah was arrested at the San Ysidro Port of Entry trying to enter the U.S. from Mexico.
Lavert had a revolver concealed in his waistband at the time of his arrest, federal prosecutors said.
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He was convicted of robbery, using and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, and a felon in possession of a firearm.
When he's sentenced he faces at least 20 years in prison on the most serious charge.
The woman who was identified as the defendant's girlfriend at the time of the incident accepted a resolution before trial, prosecutors said.
