By Shereen Siewert
One of three suspects charged after a Wausau man was robbed at gunpoint late last year has been convicted in the case and will be sentenced in July.
Devonte Scoles, 22, was convicted April 30 in Marathon County Circuit Court of armed robbery with the use of force. Circuit Judge Suzanne O’Neill dismissed a charge of bail jumping as part of a plea agreement and ordered a presentencing investigation be completed by July 9.
The alleged armed robbery happened Dec. 21 at the Rocket Apartments, formerly the Marjon Motel, 312 S. Third Ave. in Wausau.
Police say the victim called 911 from a nearby gas station after a man pointed a gun at him and took all his money. The man said he was at a friend’s apartment when two people emerged from a hiding place, held his arms around his back, pointed a gun at him and took $240 cash before pushing him out the door. The victim told police one of the suspects made comments about “putting shells” in him or killing him if he didn’t cooperate, according to court documents.
Jacob Lo, 17, and Marcelis P. Smith, are also charged in the case.
Scoles was on probation as part of a deferred sentencing agreement on an earlier armed robbery charge from 2018 when he committed the new crime, court records show. In that case, Scoles turned himself in hours after police released surveillance footage of an attempted armed robbery at BMW Fuel Mart, also known as the Clark gas station, on Third Avenue in Wausau.
On April 29, 2019 Reserve Judge Thomas Caine found Scoles guilty of attempted armed robbery but deferred judgment on the matter for two years. Scoles was ordered to spend two years on probation on misdemeanor theft charges. Had he complied with the agreement and had no new criminal charges filed against him, the attempted armed robbery charge would have been dropped. That agreement is now revoked.
Scoles, who remains jailed on a $20,000 cash bond, will be sentenced July 23.
