A man accused of robbing four Parker businesses, including two
banks, reached a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s
Office.
Parker resident Melvin Hoskins, 55, pleaded guilty last month to
“robbery affecting interstate commerce” in a hold-up at Kohl’s
Department Store in February. He also pled guilty to one count of
using a firearm to “intimidate customers and employees with
violence” when he demanded money from the store’s customer service
desk, said Jeff Dorschner, public affairs officer for the U.S.
Attorneys Office in Denver.
Federal prosecutors agreed to dismiss two bank robbery charges
and one count of armed robbery against Hoskins. He was charged in a
hold-up at King Soopers in Cottonwood. He is scheduled for
sentencing at 2:30 p.m. Sept. 23, Dorschner said.
Hoskins was charged in a string of robberies in Parker over a
one-month span earlier this year. Parker police said the same man
was responsible for robbing TCF Bank, Kohl’s and King Soopers, as
well as an attempted robbery at First United Bank in
Cottonwood.
Capt. Ron Combs said Hoskins used a handgun and a device
resembling a bomb to rob Kohl’s after allegedly trying same method
to rob First United Bank just days earlier.
“After obtaining approximately $1,000 of money belonging
to….Kohl’s Department Store and after having brandished the firearm
and fake bomb, (Hoskins) fled the store,” the federal plea
agreement says.
The 55-year-old was charged with robbing a customer service desk
at King Soopers, but the count was dismissed as part of the plea
deal. Hoskins was ordered to pay restitution for the robbery, but
the amount was not disclosed.
Ten Parker businesses, including four banks, have been robbed
since last December. Hoskins and serial bank robber Tyler Hamilton,
43, also known as the “Magoo Bandit,” are the only suspects who
have been charged.
Hamilton allegedly held up Compass Bank at East Mainstreet and
Pikes Peak Drive on St. Patrick’s Day. He was arrested March 26,
nearly 10 days after Compass Bank was robbed, and was indicted on
six counts of federal bank robbery.
Hoskins was arrested in March on a federal warrant for allegedly
robbing the TCF Bank northeast of Twenty Mile Road and Dransfeldt
Road March 6. He was taken into custody at E-470 and Chambers Road
shortly after leaving his residence at the Windrock Apartments in
Parker.
Hoskins could be sentenced to as many as 14 years in prison and
be ordered to pay $250,000 in fines. The mandatory minimum sentence
for brandishing a firearm to “threaten physical violence” is 7
years in prison, Dorschner said.
Contact Chris Michlewicz at
cmichlewicz@ccnewspapers.net