Published: November 05, 2009 12:17 am      

Not guilty plea heard in aggravated robbery case

A Lamar County woman, who was already facing trial in connection with a reported high-speed chase last summer through portions of Hunt and Delta counties, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon in connection with the same incident.

Vicki Dawn Szalay, 44, Sumner, was arraigned Monday during a hearing in the 354th District Court. Judge Richard A. Beacom accepted the plea and set a tentative trial date for three charges on Jan. 4, 2010.

Szalay had been facing trial Monday on indictments of child endangerment and evading arrest, for which she had also pleaded not guilty. Those cases were reset after Szalay was indicted on the aggravated robbery charge late last month.

The three charges all are in connection with a pursuit on the evening of July 15, 2008 following a reported robbery at Crossroads Mall in Greenville. The latest indictment alleges the vehicle Szalay was driving during the robbery was used as a deadly weapon, after an employee with the J.C. Penney store was struck and injured while attempting to detail Szalay involving an alleged shoplifting.

According to criminal complaints filed as part of court records, the Commerce Police Department had received a notice to be on the lookout for a blue Chevrolet Cavalier, heading toward Commerce on State Highway 224, in connection with the reported robbery.

Commerce police officers in separate patrol cars reported they fell in behind Szalay’s vehicle and turned on their lights and sirens, but that she refused to pull over, leading the units on a chase “well over the speed limit” east on Highway 224 and then northbound onto Highway 24/50 into Delta County. The chase finally ended about three miles south of Cooper, when Szalay surrendered.

Inside the vehicle, officers found several items which were believed to have been stolen during the robbery, including items of clothing with the price tags still attached, a pruner, a candle and a lady’s shaver.

The two children, a 12-year-old male and 6-year-old female, were brought to the Commerce Police Department and later turned over to Child Protective Services.

The earlier indictments, filed by the Hunt County grand jury in February, indicate Szalay has four prior felony convictions, three for possession of cocaine and one for credit/debit card abuse, dating back to 2001.