Published: October 04, 2007 01:21 am         

Plea entered in violent robbery at mall

One of two men indicted on charges of robbery in connection with a violent purse-snatching at Crossroads Mall during which a woman was injured has pleaded guilty.

Bradley Keith Reed was placed on probation, fined, and agreed to testify against his alleged co-actor during a hearing Wednesday in the 196th District Court.

Reed, 22, of College Station, was arrested a short time after the February incident in which the woman was reportedly dragged across the mall floor and into a wall. Chadrick O’Neal Robinson, 19, of Greenville, was also indicted in connection with the incident and is facing a trial in November.

Under a plea bargain arrangement, Reed was placed on 10 years of deferred adjudication probation with a $1,000 fine and agreed to testify truthfully against Robinson.

Deferred adjudication carries no finding of guilt, although those defendants who are found to have violated a deferred probation are subject to being sentenced to the maximum punishment.

Reed faced a maximum sentence of from two to 20 years in prison and an optional fine of up to $10,000 for a conviction on the robbery charge, a second-degree felony.

A report from the Greenville Police Department indicated an officer was dispatched to the mall at approximately 8 p.m. Feb. 3 in response to a robbery that had just occurred.

According to witnesses, a black male, wearing a black wind suit and stocking cap, had grabbed the purse of a woman leaving the mall exit of the J. C. Penney store, then dragged the victim to the ground and along the mall floor until she was thrown into a wall. The suspect then ran out the door of the mall with the purse.

An employee of the J. C. Penney store was reported to have heard the commotion and ran out to find the victim on the ground. A witness told the employee the suspect had just run out the mall door. The employee ran out into the parking lot and saw a person matching the suspect’s description jump over a fence. At the same time the employee and a mall security officer saw a car speed out of the parking lot.

A short time later another Greenville police officer stopped the suspect vehicle in the 6700 block of Sayle Street. A third Greenville police officer had contacted a mall security officer, who had struggled with the suspect in the area of Flamingo and Wren Streets and recovered the purse and a black wind suit jacket.

The mall security officer was taken to the scene of the stopped vehicle and identified the passenger in the vehicle as the suspect who had allegedly stolen the purse.

Reed was placed under arrest for robbery and outstanding warrants. The victim was transported to Presbyterian Hospital for treatment of her injuries and was later released.