Two men plead guilty in 2020 Pinetops robbery case
PINETOPS, N.C. (WITN) - Three suspects from an April 2020 armed robbery and the accused getaway driver appeared in court Monday.
The Pinetops Police Department says they were sentenced for their roles in the robbery after they accepted a plea deal.
We’re told two of the suspects were sentenced to prison while the other two received probation.
Police say 35-year-old Darrel Porter got a maximum sentence of 7.4 years in prison for pleading guilty to four felonies, including conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon and three counts of felonious restraint. Porter has been incarcerated since he was arrested, but his sentence will not begin until he has finished his sentence for possession of a schedule II controlled substance.
31-year-old Christopher Davis got a maximum sentence of 5.5 years for the conspiracy to commit robbery charge and police say that sentence is set to begin once his sentence for his three felonious restraint charges ends.
Assistant District Attorney for North Carolina Jeff Koehler said Porter was the mastermind behind the plan to rob people on Burnette Street on April 25, 2020.
Pinetops Police Chief Stacy Harrell said Porter went to a home and asked someone there for $20. Shortly after, he met with Davis, Shyheim Ashford and asked Brittany Braswell to be the driver.
Koehler explained Davis grabbed a woman who came out of the home and threatened to shoot her if everyone at the home did not give up their money.
Police say Ashford pled guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon and three counts of felonious restraint, but was placed on 24 months supervised probation and ordered to pay $800 attorney fees, court cost and pay restitution of $343 to the victim.
They also say Braswell pled guilty to accessory after the fact and was put on 18 months supervised probation and ordered to pay attorney fees and court costs.
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