By Tom Gilchrist
Staff Writer
VASSAR — Police here allege Joan R. Starr committed a strong-arm robbery, but the long arm of the law caught up with Starr — in Herington, Kan.
Tuscola County prosecutors accuse Starr, 28, of conspiring with Taylor Chisholm to rob Vassar’s B&B Market on Dec. 30, 2013. Police officers in Herington, Kan. arrested Starr on July 2 outside a bowling alley where she worked as a waitress, said Vassar Police Department Officer Jody Grant.
“We had some info as far as where she worked,” said Grant, who has investigated the case since two suspects entered B&B Market at 5:15 a.m. on Dec. 30. Police say the duo locked the door behind them and then bound and gagged a female store employee, placing her in a bathroom.
The pair obtained about $2,000 in cash, exited the store and drove away from the business at East Huron Avenue and North Water Street, according to police.
Prosecutors have charged Starr — who lists a previous address in Monroe — with unarmed robbery, unlawful imprisonment and with conspiracy to commit each of those crimes. She awaits a Sept. 2 hearing on the evidence.
Chisholm, 19 at the time of her arraignment on criminal charges in Tuscola County this past spring and also from Monroe, was charged with the same four crimes. She was ordered to stand trial in Tuscola County Circuit Court.
When asked on Thursday if Chisholm has been convicted in connection with the Vassar case, county Chief Assistant Prosecutor Eric F. Wanink said “Because of the disposition she’s received, statutorily I’m prohibited from disclosing information on it.”
When an Advertiser reporter asked to view any Circuit Court files on Chisholm on Thursday, County Clerk Jodi Fetting said “There is no public Circuit Court record found.”
The Advertiser could not reach Chisholm’s attorney, Midland lawyer Lisa M. Blanton, for comment.
Unarmed robbery carries a maximum prison sentence of 15 years, as does unlawful imprisonment. Conspiracy to commit unarmed robbery carries the same maximum prison sentence, but also comes with a $10,000 fine.