Two men convicted of robberies in Jasper County were sent to prison Monday, while the defendant in a third robbery case changed his plea to guilty in Jasper County Circuit Court in Joplin.
Judge David Dally sentenced Travis M. Robinson, 22, of Columbus, Kan., to 10 years in prison for robbing another man with a toy gun.
Robinson pleaded guilty Oct. 26 to a reduced charge of second-degree robbery in a plea agreement with the county prosecutor’s office that limited the prison time he might be assessed to no more than 10 years. He had been facing a first-degree robbery charge and 10 to 30 years or up to life in prison.
Robinson robbed Ira Brookes of his wallet on Aug. 30 in the 1600 block of East Fourth Street by displaying what the victim believed was a real gun and striking him in the face with it. The defendant was arrested by police a short time later, and the gun proved to be a toy.
At a hearing in another courtroom, Circuit Judge Gayle Crane assessed Anthony N. Colon, 28, of Joplin, five years in prison for second-degree robbery. Court records show that Colon pleaded guilty Oct. 26 in a plea agreement with the prosecutor’s office that limited the prison time he might face to no more than five years, with the sentence to run concurrently with a sentence to be served for a parole violation.
Colon ran out of Kohl’s department store in Joplin on June 25 with a duffel bag full of blue jeans for which he did not to pay, according to police and court records. He fled to a waiting vehicle and escaped the store’s security guards, but was arrested later by police.
In a third robbery case, Richard M. Johnson, 36, of Joplin, pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery in a plea agreement dismissing a second count of armed criminal action. The agreement also would limit any prison time the defendant might face to no more than 13 years.
A probable-cause affidavit states that Johnson stole a wallet from Shirley Melton on March 24, 2007, in the 200 block of East Fourth Street in Joplin. The affidavit states that he put a knife in her face and demanded her money.
Crane deferred acceptance or rejection of the plea agreement pending completion of a sentencing-assessment report. The judge set the defendant’s sentencing for Feb. 22.
