ANN ARBOR, MI – A man accused of aiding in the theft of a backpack from a car then fighting the bag’s owner when he attempted to get it back has been sentenced to jail and therapy.
Victor Lynn Stephens was sentenced Thursday, Feb. 25, to one year in jail, three weeks after pleading no contest to one count of assault with a dangerous weapon before Washtenaw County Trial Judge Darlene O’Brien.
Along with the jail sentence, Stephens was ordered to participate in the jail’s Moral Recognition Therapy program while serving his sentence.
The program is described as a cognitive behavioral treatment group designed for offenders to decrease criminal recidivism by re-educating offenders morally, socially, and behaviorally to instill appropriate goals, motivations and values.
One of two men charged in Ann Arbor parking lot robbery pleads no contest
Stephens, 60, and Gage Andrew Hammond, 24, were charged on various felony charges after the incident in which they are accused of robbing the man at knifepoint.
Both men were arraigned Oct. 28, two days after being arrested for allegedly robbing the restaurant worker in a parking lot in the area of S. State Street and Eisenhower Parkway, according to the Ann Arbor Police Department.
The victim testified in court he had just gotten off work and was walking to his car when he saw two men walking away from the vehicle holding a backpack that appeared to be his taken from the car.
After looking in his car and confirming his bag was missing, he confronted the two men and a fight ensued between the victim and Hammond, the victim said.
The victim was on top of Hammond on the ground when Stephens displayed a box cutter and told him to get off Hammond, the victim said.
The pair dropped the bag and told the victim to “take it before they took his car,” the victim testified.
As the victim walked away, Hammond then allegedly hit the victim several times from behind and smashed his car’s side mirror.
Hammond’s case is still ongoing with his next court hearing scheduled for April 1. The Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office has a plea offer extended to Hammond similar to the offer Stephens accepted.
Stephens was credited for 123 days served. Hammond is currently free on bond.
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