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Stevens pleads guilty to armed robbery Edgefielddaily.com web posted August 19, 2005 EDGEFIELD – With a quick end to a previous trial in General Sessions Court Tyler Jermaine Stevens, 21, who is charged in a July 23, 2004 armed robbery of Dodges store on Edgefield Road in Edgefield, had his jury trial moved up to Thursday rather than Friday. Initially Mr. Stevens had informed the court he would be representing himself in the trial. He changed his mind after the jury was selected on Wednesday. Mr. Stevens, who plead guilty to strong arm robbery for a crime he committed in June of 2002, was on probation at the time of the latest robbery and had just been released after serving his two year sentence. He was sentenced in that case to a 15 year sentence suspended to two years with 5 years probation. This time he faced as much 30 years for the armed robbery charge alone. Among the charges he faced were armed robbery, possession of a weapon during the commission of a crime, possession of a stolen gun, attempted escape, and several parole violations. The trial was set to begin at 1:30 pm and the jury was sworn in as the Solicitors Office began preparing for the trial along with witnesses and the victim of the hold-up. Mr. Stevens, who has made a number of surprising moves during his incarceration, had one more. Negotiating a plea right before the trial was set to begin. His Attorney James Huff informed the court that prosecutors and Mr. Stevens had agreed to a plea under which Mr. Stevens would plead guilty to the armed robbery charge and the other charges against him would be dropped as well as charges against his girlfriend and mother of his two small children, ages 1 and 5. Her charges stemmed from actions as an accessory after the fact. Judge Jackson Gregory explained to Mr. Stevens that even though an agreement had been reached between the two parties, “I am not bound by that agreement,” he said adding that he could sentence Mr. Stevens to more than the agreed 17 years. “I understand,” Mr. Stevens said. According to Assistant Solicitor Irving May Mr. Stevens entered Dodges Store on July 23, 2004 with a mask over his face and held the clerk at gunpoint with a stolen .380 pistol and demanded the money from the safe. The clerk complied and handed over $394. After the robbery Mr. Stevens left the scene and was spotted a short time later in Johnston. He eluded capture but turned himself in a few days later. Mr. Huff said Mr. Stevens had previous legal council and through a misunderstanding of a deal that had been reached earlier with prosecutors which would have reduced the charge to strong arm robbery, a non-violent charge, he refused the deal, “much to his detriment,” Mr. Huff said. Before the sentencing took place Mr. Stevens asked to make a statement. In his statement he said he knew what he did was wrong and he was very sorry for the mistakes he had made. With two small children he now knew he would never see his daughters first steps, first words, or be there to direct his son away from making the same bad choices he had made. He asked Judge Gregory to take his children into consideration in sentencing as his punishment would also punish his family. Mr. Stevens also turned and looked at Mr. John Hodge, the clerk who was working the night shift for the first time alone the night of the robbery and said, “I am sorry, I am really sorry,” and apologized for the fear he placed on him. Mr. Hodge’s nodded acceptingly at the apology. With that Judge Gregory stated the sentence would be 13 years and 85% of the time must be served. Also the probation Mr. Stevens was on was terminated. “You will still be a young man when you get out,” Judge Gregory told Mr. Stevens and he hoped this time he would make better choices. Mr. Stevens could be eligible for parole in 11 years.
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