Man Sentenced in Attempted Robbery at Smokedale Tobacco

A 19-year-old has been sentenced to prison time following an attempted robbery at Smokedale Tobacco in January.

[NAME REMOVED] was sentenced to 21 months in prison (with credit for 158 days served) on a second-degree assault charge.

Police at about 11:30 p.m. Jan. 22 were dispatched to the tobacco shop on a report of a robbery in progress.

Following a tip from a witness, police found [NAME REMOVED] hiding on the ground near some bushes in a field near All Family Dental, according to the criminal complaint. A second suspect, Dominic Donte Hewitt, was also arrested.

Witnesses and employees at Smokedale told officers two men wearing masks had entered the shop and demanded money. When workers refused, [NAME REMOVED] brandished a .22 caliber pistol and chambered a round, the complaint says.

Still, workers refused to comply with the demands, and the two suspects fled the shop and were captured in a nearby field. The pistol was found in a garbage can at Holiday Stationstore, according to the complaint.

[NAME REMOVED],
in an interview with police, admitted the crime, and said their getaway
driver had left the scene after they left the store. Witnesses and
employees positively identified both men, according to the complaint.