CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Following this week’s guilty plea from a married couple who admitted to robbing video poker parlors in Mercer County, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia vowed to keep the pressure on violent criminals who terrorize the public.
Sarah K. Bailey, 39, and Michael J. Bailey, 38, both of Princeton, entered guilty pleas to conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robberies and to brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. U.S. Attorney Mike Stuart said the fact that the defendants happen to be married did not mitigate either the seriousness of the charges or his office’s prosecution efforts.
“These are violent criminals. In one instance, they actually tied up a 76-year-old lady and left her there. It took her 45 minutes to crawl, so that she could be found,” he said, noting that the victim also had been struck in the head several times during the incident.
Stuart said the actions of the Baileys fit the typical pattern of business robberies that occur in or near a criminal’s place of residence. Additionally, he said Mrs. Bailey is a former employee of one of the video poker parlors that was robbed by the pair.
“Most crimes are committed close to home because most criminals aren’t in the process of planning out, for months and months, how to go across the country or across the state to engage in the commission of a crime,” he explained.
Stuart also said he expects his investigators and law enforcement partners to remain busy in the months ahead, as the number of violent crimes related to the drug trade and drug addiction continues to increase in the southernmost areas of the state.
“Our team is really committed to southern West Virginia as we are the rest of the Southern District, but I think you’re going to see a very, very busy year in Raleigh County, Mercer County, Monroe County, all of our Southern District. We’re ramping up in this office to make sure the public’s safe.”
Both defendants face up to 20 years in prison for the conspiracy charge to be followed by a mandatory minimum consecutive term of not less than seven years and up to life in federal prison when they are sentenced in April.
Assistant United States Attorney Timothy D. Boggess is handling the prosecutions. The plea hearings were held before Senior United States District Judge David A. Faber.