Macon – A Chauncey man pleaded guilty to armed robbery Monday in the Nov. 8, 2017, hold-up of a Citgo station on Shurling Drive.
Ronald Edward Goucher, 44, was sentenced to 20 years in prison during a hearing in Bibb County Superior Court. Goucher must serve his entire sentence without the possibility of parole.
If the case had gone to trial, prosecutor Jason Martin would have presented evidence showing:
A clerk from the store reported a man entered the store at about 6:15 p.m., brandished a gun and demanded money. After giving the gunman cash, the clerk ran to an office in the store to call 911. The clerk also locked the front door of the business.
Surveillance video shows the robbery and the gunman kicking open the front door to escape in a white Jeep Grand Cherokee with a broken tail light.
While Bibb County deputies were at the store investigating they spotted the same vehicle drive by and stopped it. Deputies found Goucher and money from the store in the car.
Goucher has a lengthy criminal record including two prior armed robberies.
Speaking after the hearing, Macon Judicial Circuit District Attorney David Cooke said, “Mr. Goucher was looking for an easy payday and used a gun to get what he wanted. Armed robberies are one of the most dangerous threats to community safety. We’re going to continue vigorously prosecuting people like Mr. Goucher who threaten hard-working store clerks and their customers.”
For more news from the District Attorney’s Office, follow on Twitter @DA_DavidCooke, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/DADavidCooke and on Instagram at da_davidcooke.
Contact: Amy Leigh Womack
478-621-6179 (office)
478-319-2529 (cell)
