By Kathy Laird
Robert D. Hardesty was the second man from Mansfield sent to prison in the past week for robbery charges committed in Crawford County. Hardesty, 32, pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony Wednesday in Crawford County Common Pleas Court.
Hardesty and his co-defendant, who has yet to be tried, were accused of breaking into a home in Crawford County. The home was the residence of the co-defendant’s ex-girlfriend.
Hardesty tried to lure the victim out of her home, and when that didn’t work, they kicked the door in. Hardesty went to an upstairs bedroom and held the victim’s current boyfriend at bey so that he was unable to help the victim. They came to the residence because Hardesty’s co-defendant wanted to kill the victim and her current boyfriend. A neighbor heard the commotion and called police.
When police arrived, they found Hardesty and his co-defendant inside the house. Both Hardesty and his co-defendant were drinking at the time of the incident.
When asked by Judge Sean Leuthold if he had anything he wanted to say, Hardesty apologized to the court for his actions and thanked Assistant Prosecutor Ryan Hoovler and his attorney Andrew Motter for working out the plea agreement.
“I am here to take responsibility for my part,” Hardesty said.
Leuthold then addressed the defendant.
“You weren’t the main culprit here, Things got wildly out of control. Be thankful the police came when they did,” Leuthold said. “If someone would’ve been killed you could be looking at life or even the death penalty.”
Leuthold sentenced Hardesty to ten years in prison with no promise of cooperation in an early release.
“You came here and took your medicine, that’s a good first step,” Leuthold said.
Hardesty will receive credit for jail time served and will have to pay restitution to be calculated later.