SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – An El Dorado County man is facing multiple life sentences after being found guilty of 10 felonies in a South Lake Tahoe courtroom on March 6.
On July 17 and 18, 2021, Joshua Thomas Lee Gardner went to the Sunray Motel in South Lake Tahoe to collect a drug debt from a woman who lived there. Once inside her room, Gardner robbed the victim at gunpoint and threatened to kill her.
The next day, Gardner robbed the victim again at gunpoint, threatened to kill her, and pistol-whipped her in the face, causing great bodily injury. After leaving the second robbery, Gardner continued to threaten to kill the victim through multiple text messages.
Gardner is from the west slope of El Dorado County. Once the South Lake Tahoe charges were filed, Sacramento County Probation arrested Gardner on August 18, 2021, while he was in jail on other charges.
On top of the felonies and enhancements, the jury also found that Gardner had two previous strike convictions for residential burglary and criminal threats. The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Casey Mandrell and presided over by the Honorable Michael McLaughlin. Gardner is due to be sentenced on April 12. He faces multiple life sentences.