Accomplice sentenced in home invasion

The 17-year-old accomplice of a 19-year-old convicted earlier this year in a 2017 home invasion robbery pleaded guilty Monday to his role in the crime and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Jaehlyn T. Johnson, who was 16 at the time of the robbery, pleaded guilty in Garland County Circuit Court to a felony count of robbery, reduced from an original charge of aggravated robbery, punishable by up to life in prison, and was sentenced to 10 years with credit for time served since his arrest Aug. 18, 2017.

Rongerald Daytoine Witherspoon, 19, of Hot Springs, pleaded guilty Sept. 11 to two counts of aggravated robbery and was sentenced to 12 years and 6 months on each count, and to second-degree battery and was sentenced to six years, all to run concurrently.

Witherspoon reportedly robbed the same woman twice last year and while Johnson was present during both incidents he was only involved in the second incident. Garland County Public Defender Tim Beckham had filed a motion on Sept. 25, 2017, to have Johnson's case transferred to juvenile court but on Nov. 8, 2017, Judge John Homer Wright denied it.

Johnson, of Hot Springs, was set for trial on Nov. 6, 2018, but the case was continued until Monday for a disposition hearing.

Beckham said Tuesday that Witherspoon was the instigator in the incidents, but Johnson was "clearly involved in the immediate flight from the robbery" which could make him statutorily responsible.

"Jaehlyn and his family understood the dangers of going to a jury trial on an aggravated robbery charge, and they were satisfied with the plea agreement," he said.

According to the probable cause affidavits on the aggravated robbery charges, on July 6, 2017, a local woman reported that a black male, later identified as Witherspoon, pulled a gun on her and struck her on the head with his fist during a robbery attempt.

She said she was looking inside the back seat of her car in the 800 block of Park Avenue when the male displayed a firearm and stated, "I know you have $150." She said she responded "Are you trying to rob me?", prompting the male to strike her on the head.

She said she grabbed a pipe from her back seat to defend herself and the male fled the area without getting any money.

A juvenile bystander, later identified as Johnson, reportedly observed the incident and gave Hot Springs police a description of the suspect and claimed he recognized him, providing officers with a name and corroborating the victim's version of events.

On July 15, the same woman reported a second incident at her home where she was accosted, and her car was stolen by two young men. She told police she was asleep at her Park Avenue residence around 2 a.m. when her dogs began barking, causing her to wake up.

She said she sat up in bed and saw two men bent down on the stairwell outside. She demanded that they leave, but instead they rushed her, put a blanket over her head and hit her in the head numerous times.

She said she was able to break free and run outside, while the suspects stole her purse, a cellphone and her car keys.

A neighbor told police she came out of her apartment and saw two males standing next to the victim's vehicle trying to get in and recognized one of them.

The two suspects reportedly returned to the victim's apartment and the older one began to punch her in the face multiple times, before running back to her vehicle, a 2005 Monte Carlo, and driving away.

The victim recognized one suspect as Johnson who had reported witnessing the attempted robbery on July 6, but she did not know the other suspect, later identified as Witherspoon. She told officers the unknown suspect was the same man that had pulled a gun on her on July 6.

Later that same day, Johnson and Witherspoon were stopped by authorities in Center, Texas, driving the victim's car.

On July 20, the victim identified Witherspoon from a photo lineup as the man who entered her residence without permission and burglarized her, and as the man who attempted to rob her on July 6. She also identified Johnson.

The woman suffered a broken nose, a head injury, bruising to her face and an undiagnosed medical issue with her right ear reportedly sustained during the attack at her apartment.

Local on 12/12/2018

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