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CRIME Pizza driver in Ashland robbery says she was shocked with stun gun Three Ashland High School athletes face robbery charges Comment By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune Follow @@VickieAldous MailTribune.com By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune Follow @@VickieAldous Posted Feb. 23, 2016 at 4:40 PM Updated Feb 23, 2016 at 7:34 PM By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune Follow @@VickieAldous Posted Feb. 23, 2016 at 4:40 PM Updated Feb 23, 2016 at 7:34 PM » Social News A young woman who allegedly was robbed by three Ashland High School athletes said she was shocked and burned by a Taser-like weapon, and that the three appeared to have planned out the attack. Ashland police initially reported the female pizza delivery driver, who identified herself to the Mail Tribune on Tuesday as Nicole Shulters of Ashland, was not shocked by a stun gun when she was allegedly robbed Feb. 15. Shulter's mother told the Mail Tribune that report appeared to have been based on miscommunication between her daughter, 21, and police during an initial interview. The mother, a former paramedic, said she later had her daughter take photos of the stun gun burn marks on her back and send them to law enforcement. Student athletes Melchizedek Michael Jaleel Elshalom, 17, James Clifford Hutchings, 17, and Michael James Zawadi Pruitt, 18, each face two counts of second-degree robbery. Second-degree robbery is a Measure 11 crime in Oregon that carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and 10 months in prison and a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Elshalom and Hutchings entered not-guilty pleas to the charges Monday. Pruitt is scheduled to be arraigned on the charges Thursday. Nicole Shulters told the Mail Tribune in an interview Tuesday that a caller placed a pizza order at Great American Pizza Co. in Ashland and asked that the delivery person carry change for $100. When she went to deliver the pizza, a person at the address said no pizza had been ordered. She said she returned to her delivery truck and was approached by three young men at about 9:30 p.m. who said they had ordered the pizza. When she reached for the pizza, she said she was shocked with a stun gun in the back. “I thought I’d been stabbed,” she said. She said the robbers told her to be quiet and she saw a stun gun. She said she had a money bag that was sticking out of her pocket, and the teens demanded money. Shulters said she was able to jump into her truck and drive away, but one of the teens ran after her and reached into the vehicle. “He hit me in the face. I floored it,” she said. Shulters said she believes she knows which teen shocked her with the stun gun and hit her, but she wants to be cautious about naming him. Investigators dusted her vehicle for fingerprints, she said. Shulters stands 5-feet-10 and was a defensive and offensive lineman on a middle school football team with boys. “My build helped a little bit,” she said. “I just wanted to get out of the situation.” The three accused teens played varsity football for Ashland High School, and Elshalom and Pruitt were listed as members of the school’s varsity basketball team. Before his arrest, Pruitt had committed to play football for Western Oregon University. He signed a letter of intent Feb. 3 in the Ashland High School trophy room while flanked by his father and a coach. “I’m sad for their futures, and I’m sad for the choices they made,” Shulters said. “I’m sad for their decisions.” She said she knew Pruitt, because after she graduated from Ashland High School, she helped with an orientation to welcome new, younger students to the school. She is back to delivering pizzas, but had her father, a former Corvallis police officer, accompany her on her first night shift Monday. “My dad did drive around with me. It was really nice,” she said. Investigators said they identified the suspects after retrieving images of them walking into a 7-Eleven store at 1281 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland. Ashland police said the suspects came to the police station willingly for interviews after investigators got in touch with family members. Attorneys for Pruitt and Elshalom did not immediately return phone calls for comment about their clients. Both teens have retained attorneys rather than using public defenders. Hutchings plans to retain an attorney, but one is not yet listed for him, according to Tuesday court records. —Reach Mail Tribune reporter Vickie Aldous at 541-776-4486 or by email at [email protected]. By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune Follow @@VickieAldous MailTribune.com By Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune Follow @@VickieAldous Posted Feb. 23, 2016 at 4:40 PM Updated Feb 23, 2016 at 7:34 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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