Juan R. Cooke II entered a Tremont bank last August and terrorized three employees before leaving with more than $18,000, and must pay for his crimes by losing at least four years of freedom, a Schuylkill County judge ruled Wednesday.
Cooke, 32, of Harrisburg, pleaded guilty to robbery, terroristic threats, theft, receiving stolen property and three counts of recklessly endangering another person, with prosecutors withdrawing an additional count of robbery and one of conspiracy.
"I accept your plea as a knowing, voluntary and intelligent plea," Judge James P. Goodman said.
Pursuant to a plea agreement between prosecutors and the defendant, Goodman then sentenced Cooke to serve four to eight years in a state correctional institution, pay costs, $50 to the Criminal Justice Enhancement Account, $272.12 restitution to Miners Bank and $6,775 restitution to one of the bank's employees, and submit a DNA sample to law enforcement authorities.
Cooke said little during Wednesday's hearing except to indicate that he understood the content and consequences of his guilty plea and that he was entering it voluntarily.
State police at Schuylkill Haven charged Cooke with entering the 29 E. Main St. bank at 9:22 a.m. Aug. 23, 2012, threatening to kill the three tellers there and taking $18,222.32 in cash before fleeing in a minivan driven by Darrell D. Dixon, 29, of Harrisburg.
Dixon drove south on Interstate 81, ending up in a high-speed chase that resulted in him crashing his Chrysler Town & Country minivan in the median on I-81 in Dauphin County a few miles south of Grantville, according to police.
Both Cooke and Dixon suffered injuries in the crash, according to police.
After a two-day trial, a jury deliberated about two hours before convicting Dixon on April 12 of two counts of robbery and one each of conspiracy, theft, receiving stolen property and fleeing or eluding police.
President Judge William E. Baldwin, who presided over Dixon's trial, is scheduled to sentence him at 9:15 a.m. May 23.Defendant: Juan R. Cooke II
Age: 32
Residence: Harrisburg
Crimes committed: Robbery, terroristic threats, theft, receiving stolen property and three counts of recklessly endangering another person
Prison sentence: Four to eight years in a state correctional institution