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Teens take guilty plea for Internet date scam By JILL BRISKEY Two White City teens who robbed a local man after he had been set up on a phony date over the Internet pleaded guilty to second-degree robbery in family court Tuesday. The boys escaped the threat of serious jail time when the Jackson County district attorney's office on Monday dropped other charges against the youths including second-degree assault, a Measure 11 crime with a mandatory prison sentence of more than five years. Branden Paul Sherrill, 17, and Jonathan Lee Fitzsimmons, 16, were both arrested March 17 by Jackson County sheriff's deputies and charged with first-degree robbery, second-degree assault and conspiracy to commit robbery. Sherill's mother, 38-year-old Kristi Jean Sherrill, who lives on Division Road in White City, also was arrested March 17 and charged with the same crimes in connection with the setup. The victim, a 28-year-old Phoenix resident, told police he began a correspondence over the Internet with a woman who called herself "Kris." The two met for the first time March 2 in a parking lot for what the victim believed was their first date. According to sheriff's detective Eric Fox, the couple drove to a remote area of the White City Ponds at the Jackson County Sports Park in the woman's vehicle. Fox said Fitzsimmons and Branden Sherrill later arrived and displayed an aluminum baseball bat and solid metal bar. The teens took the victim's wallet, which contained $83. During the incident, the victim was struck and suffered bruises to his hand and upper arm. He was not seriously injured. "This is the kind of thing you see cop shows about, and there you were. Duh," Judge Ross Davis told Fitzsimmons. "We all make mistakes. This was a large one." Fitzsimmons was sentenced to five years' probation. Instead of jail time, Fitzsimmons was given credit for time served (approximately 130 days) since Deputy District Attorney Beth Heckert said he didn't participate in the conspiracy or the assault. Branden Sherrill, who has had "contact" with juvenile authorities in the past but has no prior felony convictions, was sentenced to three years in prison, followed by two years of post-prison supervision. "This defendant is the person who actually struck the victim," Heckert said of Sherrill. "His age is the only thing he has going in his favor." Sentencing for Kristi Sherrill, who is accused of masterminding the entire event, has been postponed for two weeks, although no date has been set. According to a probable cause affidavit, Kristi Sherrill confessed to the crime after investigators were able to track her and the two teens using clues in the victim's e-mails. Reach reporter Jill Briskey at 776-4485, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.