Guilty plea in bank robbery case

YOUNGSTOWN

An Alliance man charged with robbing an Austintown bank in October pleaded guilty in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court today to a charge of aggravated robbery with a firearm specification.

Prosecutors are recommending a sentence of four years for John Hopkins, 48. Judge R. Scott Krichbaum accepted the plea and will hand down the sentence at a later date.

Hopkins is charged with robbing the Chase Bank on Mahoning Avenue Oct. 25. Reports said he handed a teller a note demanding money and said he had a gun. No one ever saw a gun, reports said.