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Guilty plea in bank robbery case

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

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.