PEORIA, Ill. (AP) - A Peoria woman was ordered to spend 37 years in prison after pleading guilty Monday to first-degree murder in the 2012 shooting death of a man during a robbery.
Amanda Payne, 27, was sentenced after prosecutors dropped from the charge any mention that Payne shot James Cohee in the head, eliminating a mandatory minimum of 45 years in prison, the Peoria Journal Star (https://bit.ly/1lq2VLN ) reported. Without the deal, Payne had faced up to 120 years in prison.
Prosecutors alleged Payne, who was Cohee’s mistress, and two others hatched a plan that called for Payne to spike Cohee’s drink at his Lake Camelot home so the two could rob him. When the drug didn’t work on Aug. 25, 2012, prosecutors have said Payne put a pillow over Cohee’s head and shot him.
Authorities have said that after Payne gave a signal, the two accomplices - Devon Moore, 20, and Zachary Cotter, 18 - entered the house and ransacked it for three hours, eventually loading up Cohee’s truck and fleeing.
Moore and Cotter pleaded guilty to murder last year and each received 25-year prison sentences. Both men had agreed to testify against Payne, if necessary, as part of their pleas.
Peoria County Chief Judge Steve Kouri allowed Payne, who said little during Monday’s 20-minute hearing, to stay in the county jail until April 1, when she will be taken to prison.
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Information from: Journal Star, https://pjstar.com
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