Sentencing set for trio convicted of robbery

5/24/2013

Three men who held up a convenience store at gunpoint are to be sentenced today in Lucas County Common Pleas Court.

Omar Watkins, 25, of 629 Russell St.; Deandre Smith, 19, of 639 Avondale Ave. and Phillip Brown, 22, of 1527 Waite Ave. each entered Alford pleas to robbery with a firearms specification last week in court. Judge Stacy Cook found them guilty and scheduled sentencing.

The three robbed the Stop-n-Go at 5013 Bennett Rd. on Jan. 2. Police said the robbers forced a customer to the back of the store at gunpoint during the hold-up.

Each was indicted for aggravated robbery, robbery, and kidnapping. As part of a plea agreement they each entered an Alford plea, meaning they did not admit to committing the crime, but acknowledged there was sufficient evidence for a conviction to the robbery charge.