2 men plead guilty in Aug. carjacking

10/10/2012

Two Toledo men accused of stealing a vehicle at gunpoint in August pleaded guilty Tuesday to robbery charges in Lucas County Common Pleas Court.

Christopher Smith, 18, of 852 Colfax St. and Johnathon Williams, 18, of 3413 Gibraltar Heights Dr. each faces up to eight years in prison at sentencing Oct. 25 by Judge Ruth Ann Franks.

Two other men, Wesley Jude, 18, of 1436 Hamilton St. and Tyquandre Carpenter, 19, of 1501 Buckingham St. each faces two counts of aggravated robbery with gun specifications for the Aug. 15 incident.

Mr. Jude, who is scheduled for trial Monday, also is charged with failure to comply with a police officer’s signal.

Both Smith and Williams admitted in court to being lookouts during the robbery of two women at Lodge and Nelson avenues in Toledo’s south end. The men said Mr. Jude had a gun and Mr. Carpenter emptied the women’s pockets before the four fled in the victims’ vehicle.

Police later attempted to pull the vehicle over for a traffic violation and chased it when the driver took off. During the pursuit, officers learned of the carjacking. The chase ended when the vehicle crashed near Airport Highway and Eastgate Road.