A Poughkeepsie man who previously pleaded guilty to robbery at a New Windsor fast food restaurant was sentenced Oct. 14 to 15 years in state prison, followed by five years of post-release supervision.
Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler announced the sentence for Joseph Rico, 50, of Poughkeepsie.
Rico pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery, a felony.
According to documents filed and statements made in court, Rico allegedly followed employees into a fast food restaurant in the Town of New Windsor before it was open for business on March 27.
Once inside, Rico allegedly displayed what appeared to be a pistol and ordered the employees to the ground.
Rico then allegedly directed a female employee into the office, where he threatened her with the pistol and demanded that she open the safe.
When she refused and tried to call 911, Rico allegedly pistol-whipped her, stole her phone and fled.
An investigation by the Town of New Windsor Police Department identified Rico as the suspect, and he was arrested.
At his plea proceeding, Rico admitted to forcibly stealing property and, in the course of the commission of that crime or while fleeing afterward, using or threatening the immediate use of a dangerous weapon.
“The lengthy sentence imposed in this case reflects the senseless violence perpetrated by this defendant,” Hoovler said in a statement released by his office. “Even though the victim in this case avoided serious injury, the defendant nonetheless demonstrated a callous and perilous disregard for the employees, who were just doing their job.”
The name of Rico’s attorney was not immediately available.
Mike Randall covers breaking news for the Times Herald-Record and the Poughkeepsie Journal. Reach him at mrandall@th-record.com.
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Poughkeepsie man gets prison sentence for armed robbery in New Windsor
Reporting by Mike Randall, Middletown Times Herald- Record / Times Herald-Record
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