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Girls Get Prison Terms For Hawleyville Robbery

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

Three teenage girls convicted on first-degree robbery charges stemming from

the armed robbery of Hawleyville Deli last September have been sentenced to

prison terms at York Correctional Institution, the state's prison for women in

Niantic.

In the July 1 sentencing by Danbury Superior Court Judge Patrick Carroll,

Laura McNamara, 18, and Tiffany Thomas, 19, both of 6 Driftway Drive, each

received a 12-year prison term, suspended after 16 months, plus five years

probation. Pamela Kiska, 17, of 40« Mt Pleasant Road, who cooperated with

police in the investigation, received a 12-year prison term, suspended after

12 months, plus five years probation. At the urging of her parents, Miss Kiska

provided police with a full confession about the incident, according to court

documents.

In plea bargain agreements reached with the state earlier this year, each of

the three teenagers pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery, a Class B felony

which is punishable with up to 20 years in prison. The state did not prosecute

charges of conspiracy to commit first-degree robbery against the three.

None of the girls has a prior criminal record.

Last September 18, at about 8 pm, Hawleyville Deli, a convenience store in a

relatively isolated area on Hawleyville Road, was closing for the day and

three store employees were inside -- a 20-year-old man, a 20-year-old woman,

and a 16-year-old boy.

The three teenage girls, who had parked a car behind the deli, then entered

the building wearing bandanas over their faces and baseball hats to obscure

their appearance. All three carried baseball bats, according to court

documents.

Miss McNamara, the planner of the crime, was a disgruntled ex-employee of the

deli who had been fired from her job a year earlier.

When the girls burst into the store, they ordered three employees to lie on

the floor. One of the three girls shouted that a robbery was in progress.

One store employee ran from the deli through a rear door to call police.

The 16-year-old male employee was sprayed in the face with a chemical irritant

by Miss Thomas. He was restrained on the floor with duct tape. The Newtown

Volunteer Ambulance Corps later transported the boy to Danbury Hospital where

he was treated and released.

The girls threatened the store employees with baseball bats as one of the

accused stole money from a cash register and a Lotto cash drawer. The three

teenage girls then fled on foot to the getaway car.

Court documents indicate $1,724 in cash and $488 worth of cigarettes were

stolen in the robbery. Police recovered almost all of the money.

After an investigation by five police officers, all three teenage girls were

arrested between 11 pm and midnight the night of the incident.

Danbury State's Attorney Walter Flanagan prosecuted the case.

"The state is mindful that none of the three has a prior criminal record, that

all three [appear] as demure teenagers, however, on the day of the crime, they

did not so [appear]," according to prosecution documents prepared by Mr

Flanagan.

"To the victims, they were masked, armed robbers who inflicted actual injury

in an adult crime that was well planned. This type of small [store] is

particularly vulnerable to these types of crimes," according to Mr Flanagan.

In a letter presented to the court, the 16-year-old store employee who was

sprayed with the chemical irritant wrote that the incident has caused him much

emotional pain and fear.

"The physical pain of being pepper-spayed was bad, but not as bad as the

humiliation at school... It hurts to know that people have no idea of what I

went through... This has left a huge scar on my life... My life has been

ultimately scarred and I'm going to try to put it behind me but it's going to

take a long time," he wrote.

Judge Carroll significantly reduced the sentences which were initially

recommended by the state in the plea bargain agreements.

The state initially had recommended that Miss McNamara and Miss Thomas each

serve 5 years in prison and Kiska serve 3« years. In court, Mr Flanagan

recommended that Miss McNamara and Miss Thomas serve four years and that Kiska

serve three years.

As terms of their strict five-year probations, the three teenagers will have

to each provide 200 hours of community service, make restitution, receive

mental health treatment, be students and/or employed, and not use alcohol or

drugs.