A co-defendant in the case of a former Santa Rosa police officer accused of staging four armored car robberies has pleaded guilty to lesser charges and will testify at trial.
Andrew C. Esslinger, 28, entered an agreement with prosecutors that will expose him to six years in prison in exchange for his testimony in the trial of Robert S. Starling, 36, who is charged with the holdups between 2007 and 2009.
Under the agreement, Esslinger pleaded guilty to conspiracy, possession of drugs and possession of a weapon during a drug deal. Prosecutors agreed to drop other charges which could have added years to any prison sentence if convicted.
Now, prosecutors will focus on Starling, the alleged triggerman and mastermind, who worked as a Santa Rosa police officers for three years before taking a job as an armored car driver.
He has pleaded not guilty to eight felony counts, including pulling off three successful robberies in Sebastopol and Santa Rosa that netted hundreds of thousands of dollars, and a fourth failed robbery attempt in Novato.
He is also accused of placing diversionary calls to emergency dispatchers with the intent of attempting a robbery in Rohnert Park as well as in the Novato case. If convicted he faces 35 years in prison.
He pleaded not guilty. Jury selection is expected to begin Monday and testimony is expected to last about 10 days.
Prosecutor Marianna Green said in court Friday she would use photos and an audio clip in her opening statements.
Starling's lawyer, Jeff Mitchell, said he would present evidence including a plastic pellet gun that was "similar if not identical" to the one that was used in the robberies.
Prosecutors say Starling used his knowledge of law enforcement and banking practices to pull off the heists.
Witnesses testified that he approached armored car guards as they were dropping off cash at various banks and fled with large sums of money, which he spent on a lavish lifestyle.
Detectives said he was behind a false 911 call to police last year, reporting there was a man with a gun on the Rancho Cotate High campus in Rohnert Park. It was a diversion for a planned robbery that was never carried out, prosecutors said. The high school was locked down for hours as police searched the campus.
Starling and Esslinger were accused of attempting a fourth robbery in Novato, but the armored car was carrying no money, police said.
Esslinger was arrested this summer through cell phone records and implicated Starling, according to police. During the preliminary hearing, an armored car guard identified Starling as the man who pointed a gun at his head outside a Sebastopol bank and made off with $97,000.
Prosecutors played a tape recording of a phone conversation Starling had with his wife while he was in jail. Starling said police had evidence to "put me away for a long time" and talked about his gun, which he said was never loaded.
In the phone call he told his wife he hoped for leniency based on his background and circumstances of the crime.
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