Tuesday, July 26th, 2011
Local men sentenced for robbery charges
By Margie Wuebker
Two area men implicated in armed robberies at area businesses received prison sentences during recent appearances in Mercer County Common Pleas Court.
• Jonathan R. Dooley, 21, formerly of 9219 Township Line Road, Rockford, was sentenced July 13 to four years in prison in connection with an August 2008 incident at the Marathon station along North Main Street in Celina.
He received credit for 98 days served during pendency of the case, and Judge Jeffrey Ingraham ordered the time to run concurrent with the term Dooley is serving at Noble Correctional Institution in Caldwell. The defendant also must pay $294 restitution to the business.
Dooley, who apologized to the victim during an earlier court proceeding and explained he was severely addicted to heroin at the time of the crime, was indicted on two counts of aggravated burglary, two counts of robbery and one count of theft. The offenses range from first-degree felonies to a first-degree misdemeanor.
As part of a negotiated agreement, Dooley pleaded guilty to a third-degree felony charge of robbery indicating he threatened a clerk at the business. The remaining charges were dismissed.
Celina Police Detective Ron Waltmire worked the case more than two years putting together "bits and pieces" of information from various sources. The case went before grand jurors in February.
• Stevie D. Morgan, 30, whose address appears in court records as the Mercer County Detention Center, received consecutive prison sentences during his recent appearance.
Ingraham imposed consecutive four-year terms after Morgan pleaded guilty in a case involving robbery, a third-degree felony, and in a second case involving burglary and theft, second- and fifth-degree felonies, respectively. The defendant received 133 days credit for time served during pendency of the case.
Additionally, Morgan was sentenced to 180 days in jail on a misdemeanor count of theft in the first case related to a Dec. 11 armed robbery at the Motor Inn Truck Stop. The time is to run concurrently to the prison time. He also must pay $304 restitution to the Motor Inn.
The other case, which took place the same day, stems from a break-in at the home of an area woman.
Grand jurors indicted Morgan on five counts in the first case and three counts in the second. All the remaining charges were dismissed during plea negotiations.
