Toledoan pleads guilty to 2 counts of burglary

5/4/2011
BLADE STAFF

A Toledo man admitted in Lucas County Common Pleas Court Tuesday to entering two area businesses and threatening employees with a knife for cash.

Justin Oliver, 30, of 923 North Superior St., No. 4, pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery, second-degree felonies. He faces up to 16 years in prison when sentenced May 23 by Judge Stacy Cook.

Oliver said in court that he entered two businesses — a BP gas station on Main Street in East Toledo and a Family Video on West Alexis Ave. in Sylvania Township — and brandished a knife. Both incidents occurred within days of each other in mid-January.

Authorities said the money stolen in the Sylvania Township incident was recovered when Oliver was arrested. As part of the plea agreement, Oliver owes $350 in restitution to the gas station.

A co-defendant, Nicole Reno, 28, of the same address, pleaded guilty to two counts of third-degree felony robbery Monday after admitting she was the getaway driver. She was sentenced to five years probation that included six months in the Correctional Treatment Facility, 90 days’ work release, and 90 days’ electronic monitoring.