Eden man sentenced for robbing elderly man
Thursday, September 10, 2009
(Updated 4:34 pm)
EDEN — A man who robbed an 80-year-old man and then went on a shopping spree with his credit card was sentenced Thursday in Rockingham County Superior Court.
Donald Lee Sapp Jr., 33, pleaded guilty to one count of robbery, three counts of identity theft and two counts of obtaining property by false pretense, according to the office of Rockingham County District Attorney Phil Berger Jr. He was sentenced to five to seven years in prison.
Eden police received a call on June 16 about a robbery on Washington Street. The caller said they saw a suspicious person running from Red’s Upholstery carrying a metal pipe or wire. Officers arrived at the business to find Harold Thomas Harris bleeding from a head injury. Harris’ wallet had been stolen.
Police later determined that Sapp was the person who reported the incident. He was still on the scene when police arrived and allowed them to search his home. A pair of bloody jeans were found, but Sapp denied any involvement.
Authorities obtained video surveillance that showed Sapp buying items with one of Harris’ credit cards at Lowe’s Home Improvement stores in Reidsville and Mayodan. Several of the items were later pawned, authorities said. Police found Harris’ credit and Social Security cards in Sapp’s bedroom during another search of his home.
Sapp was sentenced as a habitual felon. He had previous convictions for breaking and entering, possession with intent to manufacture marijuana, embezzlement, larceny, impaired driving, possession of drug paraphernalia and trespassing, according to the district attorney’s office.
In a separate case this week, a Virginia man pleaded guilty to robbing an Eden Pawn Shop.
Mario Javier Mendoza, 19, of Christiansburg, pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of robbery with a dangerous weapon and one count of assault, according to the district attorney’s office. He was sentenced to four to five years in prison.
Mendoza entered Eden Gun and Pawn shortly before closing on May 19. He pulled a gun on the clerk, took the keys to a display case and stole several necklaces. Eden police quickly caught him near Stadium and Edgewood drives. He gave a full confession.
The assault charge against Mendoza involved an incident that occurred on July 15 inside the Rockingham County jail.
Search News-Record.com
closeSearch News & Record Article Archives
Not all of the newspaper's content appears online.
*There is a fee for downloading some older articles.
