The Naha District Court building in Naha, Okinawa, as seen on June 24, 2024. (Keishi Koja/Stars and Stripes)
CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa – A U.S. Marine pleaded guilty Monday to robbing a convenience store on Okinawa, a crime he testified he committed to retrieve money he lost in an online scam.
Lance Cpl. Andrew Torres, 20, of the 3rd Marine Logistics Group, entered his pleas Monday morning in Naha District Court to one charge of robbery and one of attempted theft. He is still in custody and faces up to five years in prison when he’s sentenced July 12.
Prosecutors allege Torres took the equivalent of $840 when he robbed a convenience store clerk at knifepoint April 3.
Two weeks later, he attempted to take money from another convenience store register but was frustrated in the attempt and caught in the parking lot, fleeing the store, according to prosecutors.
Both convenience stores are in Ginowan city within a quarter mile of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma.
“It’s all true,” Torres said in court after hearing a prosecutor read the charges.
Torres said he paid a woman offering sex online but quickly realized he was scammed. He said he never met the woman.
“Torres paid about $1,570 worth of yen in BitCash,” Torres’ attorney, who did not provide his name before leaving court, said to Stars and Stripes. “Initially, he was asked to pay $125 worth of yen in BitCash. Following the first transaction, he faced an escalating series of payment demands.”
BitCash is a form of electronic money in Japan used for online payment of games, videos and music downloads.
Torres withdrew the money from the store ATM to purchase BitCash from the clerk and made several payments from the convenience store, his attorney said.
Realizing the fraud, he then asked the clerk to cancel the BitCash transactions, Torres said in court. The clerk refused, Torres said.
Torres reported for duty that day but was unable to concentrate, he said. He decided to rob the convenience store that night because he “knew that there was cash in the register,” he said
He came away with only $840 worth of yen and decided two weeks later to rob another convenience store, he testified at the hearing. Local police caught Torres fleeing the second store with a knife April 18.
“I should have sought help from family and friends,” he said. “There were better ways, I wasn’t looking into all my options.”
Torres, questioned by Judge Tetsuro Sato, said he “would have kept going” until he acquired the $1,570.
Prosecutors asked for five years in prison. Torres’ attorney requested a suspended sentence.
Torres’ attorney said that Torres paid $188 worth of yen as an apology to both convenience stores, and both agreed to forgive him. He also paid $840 to an insurance company.
“I realized it’s not a small incident given my status with the military in Okinawa,” Torres said, crying, as his hearing concluded. “This is not a reflection of who I am.”
