A Bartholomew County man considered a serious violent felon who was charged with an armed robbery in Columbus was sentenced to six years with the Indiana Department of Correction.
However, Justin Don Allen, 24, of County Road 700S may not have to spend more time behind bars.
In the early morning hours of Oct. 2, 2022, police were dispatched to the site of a reported armed robbery on California Street, just north of Ninth Street. When officers arrived, they were informed two suspects used a firearm to rob another person of currency before fleeing in a dark colored vehicle, according to investigative reports.
A short time later, a deputy on patrol observed a vehicle that matched the description given at the scene of the robbery. Officers conducted a felony traffic stop on the suspect’s vehicle on U.S. 31 near County Road 450N and observed a large sum of money inside the vehicle, police said.
Both Allen and a second suspect, Carter E. Kappel, 23, were taken into custody. During a search of the vehicle, both drugs and drug paraphernalia were found, along with a handgun that appeared to have the serial number removed, court documents state.
Allen was originally charged with armed robbery as a Level 3 felony, unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon as a Level 4 felony, and possession of a controlled substance as a Class A misdemeanor. He remained in jail until Wednesday’s hearing before Bartholomew Superior Court 1 Judge James Worton.
While Allen did not attend a June 17 change of plea hearing, public defender Jane Ann Noblitt told Worton a plea agreement had been reached. However, Noblitt said details would not be made public until a joint change of plea and sentencing hearing was held this week.
During Wednesday’s hearing, it was revealed that Allen had agreed to plead guilty to the unlawful possession of a firearm charge, as well as breaking terms of his probation from a previous conviction.
In exchange, deputy prosecutor Meagan Dial-McDonough agreed to drop the armed robbery charge, as well as a misdemeanor count of possession of a controlled substance.
Worton said he determined that Allen had already served enough time in the Bartholomew County Jail to fulfill the sentence of the probation violation.
The judge ordered that Allen spend one year on home detention under electronic monitoring, followed by four years probation.
Although a pre-sentence investigative report was written up, details regarding the report’s findings were not shared in open court by any of the parties.
No criminal charges have been filed in Bartholomew County against Kappel. But elsewhere, the Daviess County resident has been convicted of methamphetamine-related charges in both Johnson and Marion counties.
Records also indicate Kappel spent a substantial amount of time in an addiction-treatment center in his hometown of Washington, Indiana.
