Suspect in robbery of handgun pleads guilty

GOSHEN -- Anthony Amaya Jr., a 29-year-old man from Cromwell, pleaded guilty to armed robbery in Elkhart County Circuit Court on Thursday. The charges stem from an incident on July 7 in Middlebury, where he admitted to robbing a man at gunpoint during a supposed gun sale.

According to police, Amaya arranged to purchase a handgun and .45 caliber ammunition from the victim at a pizza restaurant. When the victim retrieved the firearm from a bag, Amaya pulled out a handgun from his waistband, threatened the victim, and demanded the weapon.

Security footage captured the event, showing a man arriving in a red Ford and entering the restaurant as the victim prepared the gun for the transaction. Moments later, Amaya was seen tucking the black handgun into his waistband and fleeing the scene with the bag before driving away in his car.

Police located a red Ford Fusion linked to Amaya through surveillance cameras two hours after the robbery. Amaya was arrested days later during a traffic stop and allegedly claimed he had been coerced into the robbery and that the gun he used was not loaded.

Amaya's plea agreement includes a sentence of 14 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections, with six years in prison, four years in a community corrections program, and four years suspended for probation. Judge Michael Christofeno accepted the plea, scheduling sentencing for May 15.