Robbers: Tuition was motive
Students plead guilty, face 20 years
BY SHARON COOLIDGE
Andrew Butler should be a junior at the University of Toledo, where the theater major would be starring in school plays, maybe one day headed to Hollywood or Broadw
ay.
Christopher Avery should be a sophomore at the University of Cincinnati, an engineering major with a lucrative career ahead.
Instead, the men are going to prison for at least 20 years because they tried to raise tuition money with two armed holdups last summer.
Avery, 22, of College Hill, and Butler, 20, of Milford, pleaded guilty Monday in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court to two charges of aggravated robbery and six charges of kidnapping.
Butler pleaded guilty to an additional charge of vandalism stemming from damage done to the Hamilton County Justice Center after his arrest.
"Why?" Judge Steve Martin asked the men, who had no criminal records. "You're in college, I don't understand."
Both men cited tuition.
Butler said tuition went up so his scholarships and financial aid were not enough.
"I was stressed out," he said. "I needed more money for college."
Avery said an internship at Kroger fell through, leaving no money for summer classes.
"I was strapped for cash," he said. "I thought I had nothing to lose."
The men said they faced two options: steal the money or drop out.
That's when the two friends hatched a plan to get the cash they needed.
A year of school at the University of Cincinnati costs roughly $9,400. It's less at Toledo, but still almost $7,000.
Armed and wearing black masks, the men first tried to rob Ohio Checkcashers on Reading Road in Mount Auburn on July 16.
They couldn't penetrate the store's security, even after firing four shots at the bullet-resistant glass, Hamilton County Assistant Prosecutor Brian Goodyear said.
They ran off and tried again the next afternoon, this time at Valley Central Savings Bank on Benson Street in Reading, Goodyear said.
Numerous customers were in the bank when the men stormed in, again masked and armed, Goodyear said.
They escaped with more than $130,000, Goodyear said.
They stashed the money at home, but then got sloppy, according to Goodyear.
Students plead guilty, face 20 years
BY SHARON COOLIDGE
Andrew Butler should be a junior at the University of Toledo, where the theater major would be starring in school plays, maybe one day headed to Hollywood or Broadw
ay.Christopher Avery should be a sophomore at the University of Cincinnati, an engineering major with a lucrative career ahead.
Instead, the men are going to prison for at least 20 years because they tried to raise tuition money with two armed holdups last summer.
Avery, 22, of College Hill, and Butler, 20, of Milford, pleaded guilty Monday in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court to two charges of aggravated robbery and six charges of kidnapping.
Butler pleaded guilty to an additional charge of vandalism stemming from damage done to the Hamilton County Justice Center after his arrest.
"Why?" Judge Steve Martin asked the men, who had no criminal records. "You're in college, I don't understand."
Both men cited tuition.
Butler said tuition went up so his scholarships and financial aid were not enough.
"I was stressed out," he said. "I needed more money for college."
Avery said an internship at Kroger fell through, leaving no money for summer classes.
"I was strapped for cash," he said. "I thought I had nothing to lose."
The men said they faced two options: steal the money or drop out.
That's when the two friends hatched a plan to get the cash they needed.
A year of school at the University of Cincinnati costs roughly $9,400. It's less at Toledo, but still almost $7,000.
Armed and wearing black masks, the men first tried to rob Ohio Checkcashers on Reading Road in Mount Auburn on July 16.
They couldn't penetrate the store's security, even after firing four shots at the bullet-resistant glass, Hamilton County Assistant Prosecutor Brian Goodyear said.
They ran off and tried again the next afternoon, this time at Valley Central Savings Bank on Benson Street in Reading, Goodyear said.
Numerous customers were in the bank when the men stormed in, again masked and armed, Goodyear said.
They escaped with more than $130,000, Goodyear said.
They stashed the money at home, but then got sloppy, according to Goodyear.
(From Cincinnati Enquirer, Dec 3)
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