ROCK HILL, S.C.,None — A Chester man accused of snatching a purse from a woman in a Rock Hill grocery store parking lot was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Eric Lee Pressley, 27, pleaded guilty Tuesday to armed robbery charge in connection with the Jan. 16 robbery of a woman in the parking lot of the Bi-Lo on Cherry Road.
Pressley pleaded guilty to the charge on the same day he was expected to go to trial, according to a release from the 16th Circuit Solicitor's Office. Judge Lee Alford sentenced Pressley to 15 years in prison on that charge. He will not be eligible for parole.
Pressley was arrested shortly after the 9 p.m. incident with cash and other items stolen from a woman in the parking lot on him and inside the truck when he was pulled over. Officials say he immediately confessed to police.
A Rock Hill woman, then 34, was putting groceries into the trunk of her car when a white Chevy pickup truck pulled in near her and a man got out and approached her.
The man pulled out what she thought was a knife, told her it was a robbery and demanded her purse. It turns out it was a flashlight being presented as a weapon.
The victim told police she didn't want to get hurt, so she handed over her purse. The man got in the truck and drove off.
Her husband told police he was inside the car while his wife was loading groceries in the rear. After seeing what was happening in the rear-view mirror, he told police he jumped out to help his wife.
A witness to the incident followed the truck as it turned on Anderson Road, but lost the suspect's vehicle as it traveled down Mount Gallant Road. Police caught up with the truck a few minutes later. It was being driven by Pressley, who was identified as the suspect in the robbery.
Pressley was charged with armed robbery after confessing to police that he had a flashlight he intended to present to appear as a weapon.
Solicitor Kevin Brackett praised the victims and witnesses in the case for calming handling the situation and quickly calling police.
"Thanks to the immediate reporting by the victims and quick response of law enforcement, Mr. Pressley will spend the next 15 years in the Department of Corrections," Brackett said.
WSOC
