Teen pleads guilty to robbery, other charges
A 16-year-old admitted Thursday in Fayette County Court that he took part in two separate robberies, and will spend a total of one to two years in a state prison. Antonio Lanko, clad in an orange prison jumpsuit, told Judge John F. Wagner Jr. that he did commit the crimes and wanted to plead guilty.
In a Dec. 29 robbery, Lanko was charged with going into a Lemon Wood Acres apartment with David “Taboo” Sims and Charles “Cha Cha” Lendell to rob its occupants. During that robbery, Lendell was shot and killed by one of the occupants.
Lanko told Wagner that, although he went to the apartment with Sims and Lendell, he did not realize they were going to rob the people inside. Once inside, however, Lanko said that the men brought out guns, and he willingly participated, getting shot in the leg.
The teen said he left before Lendell was shot and killed, and District Attorney Nancy D. Vernon told Wagner that she believed Lanko.
In that case, Lanko pleaded guilty to robbery and criminal conspiracy.
The teen also pleaded guilty to robbery, aggravated and simple assault, receiving stolen property and theft of a firearm that dealt with an occurrence last Nov. 8. Lanko said Kenneth Stimmel asked him for drugs, to which Lanko responded by pulling a gun out of his pocket.
Stimmel, said Lanko, dropped his wallet and ran away. Lanko picked up the wallet, which contained $300, and took it.
Lanko told Wagner that the .22-caliber gun he pointed at Stimmel was unloaded, and the judge noted that there was no way for Stimmel to know that.
In both cases, Lanko will be sentenced to one to two years in prison, but the sentences will run concurrently.
Wagner said he would sentence Lanko on Nov. 26.