Three defendants who were facing criminal charges in Johnson County courts have pled guilty and been sentenced on charges including theft and identity deception.
The Daily Journal has previously reported on these cases and is sharing this update to give resolution to our earlier reporting on crime in the community.
Man sentenced for role in armed robbery
A Greenwood man will serve less than a year in jail after pleading guilty for his role in a 2021 Edinburgh gun sale-turned-armed robbery.
Damien Blaze Morical-Jones, 22, pleaded guilty to theft, a Level 6 felony, before Johnson County Circuit Court Judge Andrew Roesener on Dec. 15. He was sentenced the same day to one year in jail, with a majority of the sentence — 237 days — suspended to probation, according to online court records.
He also received a jail credit of 64 days, meaning he will ultimately spend 64 days in jail, online court records show.
Morical-Jones and another man, Stormy Lee Neville, 23, went to an apartment on the 600 block of South Pleasant Street in Edinburgh in January 2021. The victim told police that Neville had said he would trade him a Targa .25 caliber pistol for the victim’s Smith & Wesson .45 caliber pistol and cash, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Shortly after Morical-Jones and Neville arrived at the apartment, the victim left to get money and the gun while Neville filled out a receipt for the deal, which had since turned into a transaction. Once the victim handed Morical-Jones the money, Neville took the victim’s gun, pointed it at his head and asked him to leave, refusing to return the weapon or pay for it, the affidavit says.
The victim then left and went to a friend’s house to call the police. Later, an officer went to the apartment and while they were waiting for backup, two men matching the descriptions of Morical-Jones and Neville exited the apartment. The officer told the men to stop and when officers later searched them, they did not find any guns on them, according to the affidavit.
Morical-Jones and Neville told police they were staying overnight with a friend in the apartment and that they did not live there, which was later confirmed by the apartment owner. Officers later searched the apartment and found a safe, which the apartment owner said belonged to a former partner. They did not know how to access it.
Police then spoke with the victim, who confirmed that Morical-Jones and Neville were the ones who robbed him.
Later, as the duo was being escorted out of the apartment, Neville told police that Morical-Jones knew about the safe and where the key was. Morical-Jones later told officers where to find a key, and once police found it, they opened the safe. The safe contained two handguns that matched the descriptions of the weapons that were used in the sale, and later the robbery, according to the affidavit.
Neville was sentenced to nine years in prison last year for his role in the robbery.
Suspended sentence for lying about identity
A Beech Grove woman who lied to police about her name and had cocaine inside her car will not serve any additional time in jail after being sentenced last month.
Lynn Cochran, 32, pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine, a Level 6 felony, and making a false identity statement, a misdemeanor, before Circuit Court Judge Andrew Roesener on Dec. 15. As part of the plea agreement, misdemeanor charges of possession of a controlled substance and driving while having a suspended license were dismissed, according to online court records.
Cochran was sentenced the same day to 365 days in jail, the majority of which — 339 days — was suspended to probation. She also received a jail credit of 13 days, meaning she only served 13 additional days in jail, online court records show.
In 2021, a Greenwood Police Officer patrolling U.S. 31 noticed Cochran’s vehicle braking heavily, and driving erratically. Police pulled Cochran over, and when they walked up to her car window, she began acting nervously. When they asked her to identify herself, she gave a fake name and said she did not have a valid driver’s license, court documents say.
Police asked Cochran to exit her vehicle and sit in the passenger seat of the police car while her information was verified. She said she was going to meet her sister. When police asked what her sister’s name was, she said that her sister’s name was the name she previously said was hers, court documents show.
When police asked Cochran what her name was, she gave another fake name and refused to answer additional questions. When she was informed it was a crime to not identify herself to the police, she said she was probably going to jail anyway. She also said the second name she gave police was fake, and she had active warrants in Marion County, court documents say.
Once Cochran gave them her actual name, they looked up her information and discovered her license was suspended, according to court documents.
When police searched Cochran’s car, they found four pill bottles filled with a white powder that field tested positive for cocaine. They also found synthetic urine, a license belonging to Cochran’s sister, and an Ohio trailer license plate, court documents show
Three years for stealing from mall
A Greenwood man who stole items from the Greenwood Park Mall and threatened to spray an employee with mace last year will spend three years in prison.
Brian C. Hillock, 50, was sentenced to three years in prison on charges of robbery, a Level 5 felony, and possession of marijuana, a misdemeanor, by Circuit Court Judge Andrew Roesener on Jan. 12. He also received a jail credit of 239 days, according to online court records.
He previously plead guilty to the charges on Nov. 17, and as part of the plea agreement, a Level 6 felony charge of theft was dismissed, according to the sentencing order.
Greenwood police were called to the Greenwood Park Mall on May 20 on a report of a shoplifter. When officers arrived, they spoke with a loss prevention officer for JCPenney who said they were informed that a man known for shoplifting — Hillock — was in the store, had taken merchandise and threatened to spray them with mace when confronted about it, according to a probable cause affidavit.
The officer later contacted mall security, who said that Hillock was observed entering the mall near TGI Friday’s. He later entered a restroom near Dave and Buster’s with a backpack. When he left the restroom, he did not have it on and was later seen entering Champs Sports, according to the affidavit.
The backpack was found in a trash can shortly after, and the bag was given to the loss prevention officer, who said the items inside belonged to JCPenney. They also found items that did not belong to the store, including raw marijuana and a mace spray, the affidavit said.
Hillock was observed exiting the mall and he was taken into custody outside of Bar Louie. He informed officers that he had taken the items in the backpack from JCPenney and that he had a red and white Chicago Bulls Michael Jordan jersey from Champs Sports in his pants. Officers later took the jersey, according to the affidavit.
He also told detectives that the marijuana was not his, and later admitted to threatening the loss prevention officer. He also apologized to her, saying he never would have harmed her. All of the stolen items were returned, the affidavit shows.
Correction: Jan. 20, 2023 at 11:50 a.m.
A previous version of this story had incorrect plea information for Damien Blaze Morical-Jones. He pleaded guilty, not guilty but mentally ill.
The plea type was entered incorrectly on MyCase, Indiana’s online court records website, the Daily Journal was told Friday. It has since been corrected.
