Man to spend 4 to 6 years in prison for armed holdup at convenience store
NEW PHILADELPHIA (WJER) (July 11, 2022) – The Guernsey man prosecutors say pointed a gun at a convenience store clerk during an attempted armed robbery last November is heading to prison following his latest court appearance.
67-year-old Neil Timbers of Lore City will spend four to six years behind bars for the incident at Sally’s Hilltop Store on Post Boy Road the day before Thanksgiving. Judge Michael Ernest ordered the prison term during a hearing in Common Pleas Court this afternoon, denying Timbers’ request to be placed on probation.
“I wish this would have never happened. I’m sure you wished it would have never happened, but I absolutely know there’s a victim out there who absolutely wishes she never had a gun put in her face, and for that I’m going to have you sent to prison.”
A grand jury indicted Timbers for aggravated robbery, but prosecutors agreed to reduce the charge to robbery and drop its firearm specification in exchange for his guilty plea. He told Ernest committing the crime was the worst mistake he had ever made.
“I can’t even fathom what I was thinking. It’s just a spur-of-the-moment thing that I did, and honestly, when she said no about the money I almost thanked her.”
Timbers left the store empty-handed after the clerk threatened to call authorities. He was on probation for an aggravated menacing conviction at the time of the incident.