Two men, Denroy Ingram, 33 and Edward Neil, 27, pleaded guilty to two separate charges in two different incidents yesterday in court.
Ingram, a fisherman of a North Front Street address, appeared in the #2 Magistrate’s Court. He changed his plea from not guilty to guilty of robbery, and the magistrate, Mrs. Dorothy Flowers, sentenced him to 7 years.
Ingram had two previous convictions, one for robbery and the other for burglary.
The robbery for which he pleaded guilty occurred around 3:35 p.m. on Saturday, August 11, 2007.
The victim, Margarita Cobarruvias, reported to the police that she was walking through Petticoat Alley, and Ingram, a resident of the area, came up to her then went behind her and grabbed her by her neck in a choke hold.
She said Ingram demanded money and fearing for her life, she gave him $17, all the money she had, and her pair of gold earrings, valued at $35. Ingram then ran and disappeared through the alley, she said.
Cobarruvias said she has known Ingram for about a year.
Neal, who was already serving time, appeared in the #3 Magistrate’s Court and changed his plea from not guilty to guilty of escape from lawful custody.
Magistrate Roberto Ordonez sentenced him to one year with the stipulation that the sentence should run concurrently with any other he is serving.
Neil and another man, Deon Brackett, 25, escaped from the cellblock at Queen Street Police Station about 12:50 p.m. on December 31, 2006.
Neil was being detained for theft, and Brackett was being detained for robbery.
Constable Bernard Villanueva, who was in charge of the cellblock, reported that he secured the lock of Cell 5, where the prisoners were, and he went to the office of the Executive Duty Officer, located on the ground floor of the building that houses Patrol Branch.
Villanueva said that while he was in the office he looked through the window and saw two men running through the front entrance of the station, out on to Queen Street.
Villanueva said he went to the cellblock and checked, and discovered that Neil and Brackett were missing.
Brackett handed himself into police custody later the same day.
Neil, however, was not captured until February 13, 2007.
About 2 weeks ago, Neil, a prison inmate, was caught trying to smuggle weed in foam plates into the prison. He pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and was sentenced to 3 years.