NEW YORK COMPUTER THIEVES SENTENCED 3 sentenced for January robberies | theithacajournal.com | The Ithaca Journal: 

3 sentenced for January robberies
BY RAYMOND DRUMSTA • JOURNAL STAFF • SEPTEMBER 12, 2008

ITHACA — Three people who pleaded guilty in connection with a pair of Giles Street robberies and a computer equipment theft were sentenced in county court this week.

Judge John Sherman sentenced Heather Bauer, 34, to time served and five years probation and Jonathan Booker, 16, to 1 1/3 to four years in a juvenile facility on Thursday. He sentenced Nathan Smith, 19, to five years in prison and three years post-release supervision on Tuesday.

A fourth person who pleaded guilty, Elijah Sobus, 21, is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 19.

According to court papers, the robberies occurred on Jan. 22.

In the first incident, Smith and Booker approached a man on Giles Street at about 1 a.m., pointed a silver semi-automatic pistol at him, ordered him to get on his knees and demanded his wallet, which contained $65.

The pair fled with the money to a light-colored PT Cruiser driven by Sobus and rented by Bauer, the papers said.

According to court documents, a witness saw Smith take a laptop computer and docking station worth around $2,400 from the Cornell University offices at the Hilton Garden Inn at about 7:30 p.m. the same day. The computer equipment was found in his possession the following day, the documents said, and though Smith was charged with burglary and criminal possession of stolen property in the computer theft, the indictment said the four acted in concert to commit the crime.

At about 11 p.m., Smith and Booker brandished what appeared to be dark semi-automatic pistols at a man on Giles Street, ordered the man to his knees and took an envelope with $385 inside and a cell phone from him.

The pair “laughed and shot orange plastic pellets” at the victim as they walked away, according to the indictment, but the victim chased the pair until they got into the back seat of the PT Cruiser.

Before the four fled, the victim jumped on the hood of the car, leaving a dent and hand streaks that investigators later used to link the car and suspects to the crime. The gun used in the robberies was an air pistol, court papers said.

At the time of their arrests, Sobus lived in Ithaca, and Smith, Booker and Bauer were homeless, the papers said.

Smith and Booker pleaded guilty to four counts of second-degree robbery, third-degree burglary, fourth-degree grand larceny and fourth-degree conspiracy — all the charges on which they were indicted. Sobus and Bauer, who were charged with the same crimes in the same indictment, pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted second-degree robbery. 

rdrumsta@ithacajournal.com