GREENFIELD — A judge is weighing whether an Indianapolis man accused of using a Craigslist ad to rob a woman will serve his sentence in prison or on home detention after the defendant agreed to plead guilty to the robbery, officials said.
Eric Floyd, 33, 4422 Ralston Ave., Indianapolis, recently accepted a plea agreement from prosecutors that called for him to plead guilty to charges of armed robbery and carrying a handgun without license; the agreement asks the judge to hand down a six-year sentence, officials said.
Investigators say Floyd arranged to meet a local woman at a gas station in New Palestine last year under the guise of negotiating a price for a cellphone she was trying to sell online. Floyd then allegedly pulled a gun, snatched the device away from the woman and fled, only to be stopped by police a few minutes later, according to court documents.
Floyd was arrested after the incident in August 2015 and charged with a Level 3 felony count of armed robbery; a Level 5 felony count of intimidation with a deadly weapon; a Level 5 felony count of carrying a handgun without a license; a Class A misdemeanor of theft; and a Class A misdemeanor of carrying a handgun without a license, records show.
The woman told police she agreed to meet a stranger at a New Palestine gas station shortly before 9 p.m. Aug. 18, 2015, hoping to discuss a price for the iPhone 6 Plus she listed for sale on Craigslist.
The woman said she and Floyd spoke briefly in the parking lot of the gas station before the phone was snatched away, police said. When the woman started to chase after the suspect, he flashed a gun at her and told her not to follow him, police said.
The suspect then climbed into a car and drove from the parking lot. The woman called 911 on another cellphone and provided a description of the man and the car he was driving, police said.
New Palestine Police officers pulled Floyd’s car over near the intersection of county roads 300S and 600W, investigators said. They found a gun and the cellphone inside, officials said.
The plea agreement Floyd signed called for him to plead guilty to felony robbery and a misdemeanor count of carrying a handgun without a license and serve four years in prison followed by two years on probation, prosecutors said.
But the plea allowed a judge to make the final determination on where Floyd serves his time, officials said.
Floyd appeared in Hancock Circuit Court Friday for a sentencing hearing, during which prosecutors and Floyd’s attorney argued before Judge Richard Culver about what level of security was most appropriate, officials said.
Hancock County Deputy Prosecutor Marie Castetter recommended Floyd spend four years in prison before being placed on probation; Trina Saunders of Indianapolis, Floyd’s defense attorney, argued her client should be enrolled in a less-secure community corrections program, particularly house detention, officials said. She declined to comment further.
The judge took the matter under advisement. Records show Culver will sentence Floyd on Dec. 14 at 2:30 p.m. in Hancock Circuit Court.