By Jeff Lehr

jlehr@joplinglobe.com

One of two illegal immigrants charged with robbing a Pittsburg, Kan., man at the Greyhound bus station in Joplin pleaded guilty Monday in Jasper County Circuit Court to an amended charge of stealing and was ordered turned over to immigration officials for deportation to Mexico.

Eduardo Hernandez, 29, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of felony stealing in a plea agreement with the county prosecutor’s office. Hernandez was facing a charge of first-degree robbery in connection with an incident Feb. 8 at the bus station.

Lin Hua Chang, owner of the Yummy Chinese Buffet in Pittsburg, reported being robbed of $230 in cash and his van by two men he had taken to the bus station after firing them for allegedly stealing money from his business.

Chang, who had hired the men through a company in California, gave them money to return home and a ride to the bus station, according to a police report. But once they reached Joplin and he was helping them get belongings out of his vehicle, one of the men hit him, and the other pulled a knife and demanded his money and keys.

The men then allegedly stole his van.

Hernandez waived his right to a sentencing-assessment report under terms of the plea agreement, and Circuit Judge David Dally sentenced him to seven years for the conviction. But the judge suspended execution of the sentence as called for by the plea agreement, and ordered the defendant turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation proceedings.