Final two figures in Subway case get suspended sentences

Friday, April 13, 2012

The final two young people implicated in a December theft at the Greencastle Subway restaurant have reached plea agreements in the case, receiving suspended sentences.

The third and final defendant to go to court was Hayley R. Ellis, 21, Coatesville, who appeared in Putnam Circuit Court on Thursday. Ellis is the lone member of the trio who was employed by Subway at the time of the inside theft that was falsely reported as a robbery.

Ellis -- like acknowledged accomplices Joshewa D. Lizotte, 19, Greencastle, and Matthew R. Davidson, 19, Greencastle, before her -- pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit theft (a Class D felony) and had all other counts against her dismissed.

She, too, received a sentence of 1-1/2 years in the Indiana Department of Correction, but had that sentence suspended. Terms of her probation include 40 hours of community service and payment of restitution.

Meanwhile, Davidson, a former Subway employee, also pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to commit theft charge and received an identical suspended sentence during his April 5 appearance in Putnam Circuit Court.

Lizotte, who like Davidson had been facing two counts of theft in the Dec. 15 incident, reached a plea agreement on March 22, entering a guilty plea to conspiracy to commit theft.

The lone member of the trio not previously employed by Subway, Lizotte was also sentenced to 1-1/2 years in the Indiana Department of Correction with that sentence suspended by Judge Matthew Headley.

Ellis, who was represented by local attorney Trudy Selvia, reportedly made the phone call to police to report the alleged robbery. That led to her additional charge of false informing.

None of the three defendants had a previous criminal record, which the Putnam County Prosecutor's Office took into account in executing the plea agreement. Chief Deputy Prosecutor Justin Long appeared in court Thursday on behalf of the state.

As part of their plea deals, Ellis, Davidson and Lizotte may petition to have their convictions on conspiracy to commit theft modified to Class A misdemeanors after their entire probation period is completed and provided they have had no violations during that timeframe.

From early on in the investigation, police suspected the reported robbery was an inside job. That notion was later confirmed through store videotape and statements given to City Police Det. Randy Seipel.

Police noted that the would-be thieves seemed to exhibit intimate knowledge of Subway's nightly closing procedures, indicating an inside job appeared likely.

The defendants reportedly agreed that while Ellis was executing her closing operations, Davidson and Lizotte would enter the restaurant and make it look as if a robbery had occurred.

After they departed, Ellis would call local police and Subway management to report the restaurant had been robbed.

An undisclosed amount of cash was then split up between the three suspects, police said.

The contrived incident unfolded just after 10 p.m. Dec. 15 at the Subway at 1360 E. Indianapolis Rd. in the Shoppes of Greencastle center.

Ellis initially told police she went outside to dump the trash and was overpowered by three men when she opened the back door. Held a bay by one intruder, she originally said the two others ran inside and took cash from the registers and safe.

Comments
View 1 comment
Note: The nature of the Internet makes it impractical for our staff to review every comment. Please note that those who post comments on this website may do so using a screen name, which may or may not reflect a website user's actual name. Readers should be careful not to assign comments to real people who may have names similar to screen names. Refrain from obscenity in your comments, and to keep discussions civil, don't say anything in a way your grandmother would be ashamed to read.
  • It appears that crime does pay...with everyone getting suspended sentences. At the very least, house arrest and community service.

    -- Posted by Cloverinterest on Fri, Apr 13, 2012, at 10:21 AM
Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: