A gunman who tried to rob a Pizza Hut employee a few days before Christmas now faces 45 years in prison. A Bulloch County jury found Ricky Edward Mock guilty of four felony charges Wednesday after deliberating an hour, said Ogeechee Judicial Circuit Assistant District Attorney Daphne Jarriel.
Bulloch County Superior Court Judge William E. Woodrum sentenced Mock, 51, Quail Ridge Drive, Sylvania, to 10 years to serve for the charge of criminal attempt to commit armed robbery; 10 years to serve for the charge of false imprisonment; 20 years to serve for the charge of aggravated assault and five years to serve for the charge of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
The sentences will run consecutively, Jarriel said. Woodrum followed the state's recommendation that Mock be sentenced under the state's recidivist statute, which calls for additional penalties for those with prior felony convictions, she said.
Mock had seven prior convictions before he stuck a gun into the side of a Pizza Hut employee Dec. 22 and demanded cash, she said.
He was convicted in Chatham County in 1974 for motor vehicle theft; in 1975 for burglary; again in 1976 for motor vehicle theft and for armed robbery, she said.
"Mock also had been convicted on three prior occasions in Bulloch County for burglary in 1979, armed robbery in 1981, and for burglary and aggravated assault with intent to rape in 1988," she said.
For the 1988 convictions, Mock was sentenced to 20 years to serve, and served 14 years of that sentence before being released on parole in 2003.
@Subhead: "Happy Halloween"
@Bodycopy: Witnesses testified that Mock, carrying a plastic bag with beer, entered the Pizza Hut on South Main Street around 9:50 p.m. Dec. 22. He placed a gun to a female employee's side and said "I don't want to make a scene, but give me all the money," Jarriel said.
The employee told Mock she had no money to give him, but he "continued to hold the gun to her side and ordered her to open another drawer, and the safe located in the restaurant," she said.
Mock became "belligerent and angry after she was unable to comply with his demands to give him money and fled from the restaurant on foot," she said.
Two other employees called 911 after witnessing the incident, and soon afterwards, Statesboro Police Officer Marcus Hartwell and Cpl. Eric Simms arrived at the scene. Simms and his K-9 partner Sam began tracking Mock about three minutes after he had fled the restaurant, she said.
Simms and Sam traced Mock's path along McTell Trail until officers located him behind Shoney's a short distance away, she said.
Statesboro Police Sgt. Chuck Forney testified about taking Mock into custody and finding a crack pipe in his pocket. Pizza Hut employees Quintin Scott and Brian Lafond testified Mock was carrying a plastic bag with beer inside during the robbery attempt and that he yelled "Happy Halloween" as he fled the scene, Jarriel said.
Bulloch County Superior Court Judge William E. Woodrum sentenced Mock, 51, Quail Ridge Drive, Sylvania, to 10 years to serve for the charge of criminal attempt to commit armed robbery; 10 years to serve for the charge of false imprisonment; 20 years to serve for the charge of aggravated assault and five years to serve for the charge of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
The sentences will run consecutively, Jarriel said. Woodrum followed the state's recommendation that Mock be sentenced under the state's recidivist statute, which calls for additional penalties for those with prior felony convictions, she said.
Mock had seven prior convictions before he stuck a gun into the side of a Pizza Hut employee Dec. 22 and demanded cash, she said.
He was convicted in Chatham County in 1974 for motor vehicle theft; in 1975 for burglary; again in 1976 for motor vehicle theft and for armed robbery, she said.
"Mock also had been convicted on three prior occasions in Bulloch County for burglary in 1979, armed robbery in 1981, and for burglary and aggravated assault with intent to rape in 1988," she said.
For the 1988 convictions, Mock was sentenced to 20 years to serve, and served 14 years of that sentence before being released on parole in 2003.
@Subhead: "Happy Halloween"
@Bodycopy: Witnesses testified that Mock, carrying a plastic bag with beer, entered the Pizza Hut on South Main Street around 9:50 p.m. Dec. 22. He placed a gun to a female employee's side and said "I don't want to make a scene, but give me all the money," Jarriel said.
The employee told Mock she had no money to give him, but he "continued to hold the gun to her side and ordered her to open another drawer, and the safe located in the restaurant," she said.
Mock became "belligerent and angry after she was unable to comply with his demands to give him money and fled from the restaurant on foot," she said.
Two other employees called 911 after witnessing the incident, and soon afterwards, Statesboro Police Officer Marcus Hartwell and Cpl. Eric Simms arrived at the scene. Simms and his K-9 partner Sam began tracking Mock about three minutes after he had fled the restaurant, she said.
Simms and Sam traced Mock's path along McTell Trail until officers located him behind Shoney's a short distance away, she said.
Statesboro Police Sgt. Chuck Forney testified about taking Mock into custody and finding a crack pipe in his pocket. Pizza Hut employees Quintin Scott and Brian Lafond testified Mock was carrying a plastic bag with beer inside during the robbery attempt and that he yelled "Happy Halloween" as he fled the scene, Jarriel said.