Police have charged four men for Tuesday night’s armed robbery of the Buca Shell Gas Station at mile 2 on the Northern Highway. As we showed you on Wednesday, it was all caught on camera and police say the two men seen on the surveillance tape pointing a gun in the face of cashier Mario Miranda and then cleaning out the cash register before fleeing were 30 year old Newton Neal and a 16 year old minor. Both were charged with robbery and this morning both pleaded guilty.
Magistrate Sharon Frazer reserved judgement until this afternoon. But when he returned to court this afternoon, Newton Neal wanted to change his plea. Magistrate Sharon Frazer denied the request and sentenced him to 5 years in jail. She noted that that was the minimum sentence and she was lenient because he saved the court’s time. The 16 year meanwhile won’t spend a single day in jail or even the youth hostel for the armed robbery. He was fined $3,000.
The two other suspects in the robbery are 23 year old Lionel Sampson and 24 year old Paul Usher. They were allegedly waiting outside the gas station in the getaway car – a Ford Escort. They were both charged with conspiracy to commit robbery. Both pleaded not guilty and were remanded to prison until October 20th.
The two men stormed into the store at 7:52 on Tuesday night and held up the cashier after which they fled with just over $200. A man who was passing the gas station at the time and saw the men fleeing from the store – followed the robbers and led police to the corner of Meighan Avenue and St. Thomas Street where they were busted. Police found $183 in the car.
