Man pleads guilty to armed robbery, carjacking

September 13, 2007|By ERIN JULIUS

HAGERSTOWN

A man accused of robbing the Williamsport Pharmacy at 31 N. Conocoheague St. and moments later pushing a woman out of her vehicle while threatening to hurt her pleaded guilty Thursday morning in Washington County Circuit Court to armed robbery and carjacking.

Jamie Parker Barnes, 41, was being held without bond Thursday.

Washington County Circuit Judge Donald E. Beachley ordered a full presentence investigation be completed before Barnes is sentenced.

Conviction of armed robbery carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years; conviction of carjacking carries a 30-year maximum sentence. Other charges, including first-degree assault and weapons violations, were dropped in exchange for the plea.

Barnes showed a handgun the morning of May 2 and told employees at Williamsport Pharmacy that he needed OxyContin because his mother was dying of cancer, Assistant State's Attorney Viki Pauler said Thursday.

OxyContin, hydrocodone and oxycodone worth $3,438.52 were taken from the pharmacy, according to a court charging document.

Two to three minutes after the robbery, deputies responded to a call for a carjacking near Governor Lane Boulevard in Williamsport, Pauler said.

The carjacking victim said she saw a man wreck his vehicle. When she went to check on his condition, the man got into her vehicle and told her to drive, deputies alleged in charging documents. When the man told her his mother was dying, the carjacking victim suggested he call the police, Pauler said. At that point, he pushed the woman out of her vehicle and told her if she didn't get out he would hurt her.

The carjacking victim was in court Thursday and was still shaken by the event, Pauler said.

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