Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Kosciusko Circuit Court Judge Rex Reed accepted a plea agreement from the confessed timer of a bank robbery Thursday morning.
"Going into a bank with a gun and threatening people is not in any way appropriate," Reed said after accepting the plea agreement from Michael Angel Islas Jr., 21, of Warsaw.
Islas submitted his guilty plea to Judge Reed Aug. 31 in open court. Islas admitted he was the timer and watchman for a bank robbery in Etna Green in April.
As part of the plea agreement, Islas was sentenced to 10 years in prison and ordered to pay $60 restitution, a $1 fine and court costs.
An employee of the bank who was working the day of the robbery made a statement before Islas' sentencing.
"My life is forever changed," she said, adding that she feels anxiety every time someone opens the door quickly to enter the bank. She also said she is uncomfortable entering her home alone or when it is dark.
"I hope everyone involved in this (robbery) gets help and never does this again," she said.
Islas entered the courtroom Thursday wearing a gray-striped Kosciusko County Jail uniform unbuttoned to expose a white t-shirt and a black rosary around his neck. He sat quietly at the defense table while Judge Reed spoke during the sentencing.
"In my view, (this crime) is well-deserving of a 20-year sentence," Reed said. However, the plea agreement specified that Islas was sentenced only to 10 years, the presumptive sentence for a Class B felony.
"With a 10-year sentence, you will serve five years," Reed said. "Five years is a long time in a young man's life. ...(There is) still some hope for you. ... You need to get an education."
Reed encouraged Islas to complete his high school education and get a college education.
"If the sole purpose (of going to prison) is becoming a better criminal, and you really need that because ... it was absolutely stupid, this whole affair, shame on you," Reed said.
Islas admitted he watched the door and counted off time while Rocky L. Lozano, 23, of Leesburg, and Logan A. Greene, 26, of Warsaw, held tellers up at gunpoint at the National City Bank Branch in Etna Green in April.
On June 23, Lozano entered a plea agreement and was sentenced to 20 years in prison for armed robbery. On June 16, Green was sentenced to 26 years in prison for armed robbery and being a violent felon with a firearm.
Ashley King, 22, of Warsaw, is still awaiting sentencing. She admitted to driving one of the getaway cars and entered a guilty plea on June 19 to aiding and assisting a robbery.
On April 26, four armed subjects dressed in masks and black clothing robbed the Etna Green Branch of National City Bank. All four suspects were apprehended within 15 minutes of the robbery.
Soon after, officers found two men walking close to the Etna Green Cemetery where an abandoned maroon car was located. The men, Greene and Islas, were taken into custody without incident.
Shortly after, Lozano and King were stopped by a Warsaw Police officer on Crystal Lake Road and taken into custody.
