By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com
The justice system can put another point in the win column when it comes to robbery suspects.
Kenneth Higgins, the suspect in the armed robbery of the Galion Moto Mart in December, was sentenced to five years in prison Tuesday afternoon in Crawford County Common Pleas Court. Higgins, a 24-year-old Galion man, pleaded guilty to first degree aggravated robbery.
The Galion Police Department had responded to a report of an armed robbery at Moto Mart on Harding Way East. Police were told that the suspect had brandished a handgun at the employees before making off with an undetermined amount of money.
Though Higgins could have received a maximum sentence of 11 years in prison, assistant prosecutor Ryan Hoovler said the sentence had been reduced to five years because Higgins had used a pellet gun during the robbery and he had no prior record. Higgins will receive 90 days of jail time credit and will serve a mandatory five years on post release control after his prison sentence. He was also ordered to pay $258 in restitution to Moto Mart and $1,065.90 in restitution to the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office after it had to transport him from Florida.
“In this county, I don’t care what it is. Robbing people is not an acceptable behavior. I’m not going to tolerate it,” said Judge Sean Leuthold.