Two men who pleaded guilty to robbing a woman of her income tax refund are headed to prison, the Cobb County District Attorney said today.
Markel Owens, 30, of Mississippi, was sentenced to 35 years, including 25 years to serve, and Anthony Markee Weaver, 26, of Powder Springs, was sentenced to 15 years, including 10 serve, for the January 2012 crime, DA Vic Reynolds said.
Investigators believe Owens was in a romantic relationship with the victim and was with her on Jan. 31, 2012, when she cashed a tax-refund check, Reynolds’ office said in an emailed statement. Later that day, the two checked into the Marietta Motel on Cobb Parkway, and the victim, who had about $2,900 in cash from the refund check in her purse, fell asleep.
The woman later awakened and found Owens repeatedly texting with someone, Reynolds said. Owens then left the room and did not return.
About 2:30 a.m. on Feb. 1, 2012, two masked men, one of them armed with a handgun, kicked in the door to the woman’s room, held her at gunpoint and demanded her purse, then fled in a vehicle, Reynolds’ office said.
Marietta police obtained cellphone records indicating Owens and Weaver had plotted the burglary and robbery, Reynolds said. Two other suspects were involved, but they have not been identified.
“I can’t think of anything more scary than a woman, alone in a hotel room in the middle of the night, having the door kicked in by armed men,” said Richele Anderson, the assistant district attorney who prosecuted the case. “And this was a long time coming. The case was called for trial a year ago, when Mr. Owens was out on bond. He did not show for the trial and wasn’t found until he was arrested during a traffic stop a few months ago in Memphis, Tennessee.”
Earlier this week, both Owens and Weaver pleaded guilty to armed robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, and firearms-possession charges. Both were sentenced today.
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