FARMINGTON — A Franklin County justice sentenced a Livermore Falls woman Monday to eight years in prison with all but 33 months suspended for robbing a 75-year-old Jay man on June 28, 2015.
Amanda Cote, 39, pleaded guilty last week to felony robbery, burglary and hindering apprehension of prosecution, according to a plea agreement. For the burglary and hindering apprehension of prosecution charges, she was sentenced to 33 months each, to be served at the same time as the robbery sentence.
Conditions of her four-year probation include no alcohol or drugs, random searches, no contact with the victim and $5,000 in restitution to be paid along with two co-defendants, Eric Hafford, 35, of Livermore Falls and Daniel Leet, 34, of Lewiston.
Cote did not agree with all of the state’s evidence but understood that if the evidence were presented to a jury, she could be found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, Justice William Stokes said.
Cote was accused of being the getaway driver while Hafford and Leet entered he home of Wallace Williams late and tied his hands behind his back with packing tape. They robbed him of part of his valuable coin collection, his cellphone and his wallet, which contained a debit card.
If the case had gone to trial Monday, the state would have shown that Cote knew Williams and she knew about his coin collection because her mother and his late wife were friends. She also knew that his wife passed away and he lived alone and was an easy mark, according to Assistant District Attorney Joshua Robbins.
Leet and Hafford did not know the Williamses.
Williams was in court Monday with several family members but did not wish to say anything, Robbins said.
Williams is troubled that Cote put this on him in his condition, Robbins said. Williams has known her since she was a little girl.
“The sentence is pathetic,” Dale Williams, the son of Wallace Williams, told the court. “They could have killed him. He is on oxygen and they made him lie face down.”
Cote’s mother, Patricia Sawyer, also asked to address the court.
“She was not in on the robbery,” she said. “She’s not lying. They scared her into pleading guilty to something she didn’t do.”
Stokes said the plea she agreed to lessened the risk of being found guilty and facing a longer prison sentence.
“You will be away from your two children for a significant period of time,” Stokes told Cote. He said that prior to this incident, she had no criminal record.
With time served and potential time given for good behavior, Cote could be out by January 2018, he said.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
