Ada man gets 6-plus years during disrupted sentencing
LIMA — An Ada man was sentenced to a minimum of six years in prison and a maximum of nine years for a gas station robbery in July.
Luke Gross, 31, of Ada, was sentenced, much to the dismay of his mother, who was present in the courtroom.
During her sentencing, she was disruptive at times, and Allen County Common Pleas Court Judge Terri Kohlrieser told her that if she didn’t stop, she would be removed from the courtroom. After the sentence was handed down, she began yelling at a crime victim services representative and was escorted out of the courtroom.
“Looking at his record, you can see that he is at high risk to reoffend because he has been jailed multiple times in different counties, and because of those factors, we believe jail is appropriate,” said Assistant District Attorney Colleen Limerick.
According to court documents, around 6:30 a.m. on July 12, Lima Police officers responded to 2054 N. West St. in reference to a robbery that had just occurred at a Circle K gas station.
Arriving officers spoke with the gas station cashier who had been robbed, and she told them that a large, white man with a mask had entered the store and placed two Gatorade drinks on the counter and demanded all the money from the register, all the Newport cigarettes and the lottery tickets.
The cashier also said the man showed a large screwdriver and that if she obeyed and didn’t “make a scene” he wouldn’t hurt her. Video from the gas station showed a suspect wearing a black, long-sleeved McDonald’s shirt, red pants and a mask. Officers were informed that the suspect was riding a teal-colored bicycle.
A patrol officer in the 500 block of Brower Road observed a man riding a teal bicycle and holding a large trash bag. When he approached, he began to flee and, after a search, was arrested. They identified him as Gross, who was found with the stolen items.
