Story originally printed in the Winona Daily News or online at www.winonadailynews.com
Published - Friday, May 16, 2008
Nurse gets probation for role in failed Golfview robbery
A nurse accused of treating a wounded liquor store robber in 2007 was sentenced to 10 years of probation Thursday for lying to investigators about the incident.
Susan Anne Leathes, 37, was also ordered to complete 100 hours of community service and pay a $77 court surcharge. Judge Mary Leahy did not impose a fine on Leathes, who has lost her job as a registered nurse because of the felony conviction.
Leathes said nothing during her sentencing hearing in Winona County District Court, but Leahy summed up the woman’s situation as a series of “very bad decisions.”
Leathes admitted in February that she lied to investigators about the gunshot wound her boyfriend, Andre Dion Jones, suffered during the botched robbery. She also admitted lying to police when she told them no crime had been committed.
Convicted by a plea agreement on one felony count of aiding an offender, prosecutors dropped three remaining felony charges filed against her.
According to testimony from Jones and his accomplice, Randy Lee Strong, Jones hatched a plan to rob the Golfview Liquor Store on Feb. 9, 2007, after failing to score “big money” while collecting debts from acquaintances. Jones threatened the store owner with a gun, but the owner refused to hand over any cash. As Jones left the store, he grabbed two bottles of wine, and the owner shot him in the back with a revolver.
Jones dropped the wine and fled.
Strong, 38, then drove Jones to Leathes’ house, where she patched up the wound, according to the criminal complaint.
Leathes is the last of the defendants in the case to be sentenced. Jones was sentenced in March to seven years and four months in prison. He is currently in prison in St. Cloud, Minn., with an expected release date of Jan. 2, 2012, according to the Minnesota Department of Corrections. Strong has since served his sentence of a year and a day in jail.
Contact Kevin Behr at kbehr@winonadailynews.com.
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