PASCAGOULA, Miss. (AP) - A Jackson County man has pleaded guilty to robbing at gunpoint a Hancock County couple he lured to Pascagoula through an ad on Craigslist for an iPhone.
Nicholas DeMorst, 23, entered the plea Tuesday before Circuit Judge Dale Harkey. DeMorst will be sentenced July 25.
The Sun Herald reports (https://bit.ly/T1sSZT ) prosecutors have recommended a 30-year sentence on the two armed robbery charges, with 10 years to serve day-for-day.
Authorities said DeMorst used the advertisement on Craigslist to get the couple to meet him for the purchase. Once there, the couple was driven in their car to an unknown location where DeMorst had said he was keeping the iPhone. Instead, police said, DeMorst pulled out a gun and robbed the couple of more than $300.
DeMorst jumped out of the car and fled on foot. The couple alerted police, who arrested DeMorst a short time later.
At the time of the arrest, DeMorst was out of jail on a felony charge of auto burglary.
Also, a Jackson County grand jury has indicted DeMorst for capital murder in the shooting death of Hunter Miller during an armed robbery in January.
Police found Miller shot after responding to a report of a car crash. Miller, who died on the way to the hospital, had been shot in the back.
Also arrested in the killing was Freddie Lee Lawrence, on a charge of accessory after the fact to capital murder.
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Information from: The Sun Herald, https://www.sunherald.com
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