VP robbery leads to 10 year sentence

LAFAYETTE, Ind (WLFI) - A Gary teenager is sentenced to 10 years in prison, followed by two years on probation, for his role in an armed robbery in Lafayette.

Michael McCullough, 17, pleaded guilty to Robbery in Tippecanoe Superior Court.

McCullough and two other men held up the Village Pantry on Schuyler Avenue in April 2008.

McCullough was 16 years old at the time, but was waived into adult court.

Two other Gary men were arrested in the case. All three are accused of robbing the VP in Lafayette, then trying to hold up the Petro Trucking Center in Remington about 30 minutes later.

Jasper County Prosecutor Kathy O'Neall said the clerk told the men she had just changed the drawer and had no money. She said truck drivers chased the gunmen from the store. McCullough, Stephen Baker, 23, and Dante Dillinger, 22, were stopped on Interstate 65 shortly after the attempted robbery at the truck stop.

McCullough was sentenced to 6 years in prison for his guilty plea to Conspiracy to Commit Armed Robbery in Jasper County. Baker was ordered to serve 8 years in prison. Charges are still pending against Dillinger.

In the Tippecanoe County robbery, Stephen Baker was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the robbery. Dante Dillinger faces trial in September.