photo by: Douglas County Sheriff's Office

Victor Gabriel Moreno

A Lawrence teen pleaded guilty to robbery charges Wednesday in Douglas County District Court, while another individual charged in the crime remains at large.

The teen, Victor G. Moreno, 19, accepted a plea deal that reduced his charges from one level-three felony count of aggravated robbery and one level-four felony count of aggravated burglary to two counts of robbery. The robbery charge is a lesser-severity level-five felony.

Moreno is one of three men charged in an incident that occurred in the 900 block of Arkansas Street around 9:15 p.m. on Oct. 13, 2021. The other two are Casey Lamont Williams Jr., 24, and Wesley James Tolbert, 25.

As previously reported by the Journal-World, a resident told police that three individuals approached the resident and struck the resident with a pistol, then entered the resident’s home, stole money and fled before police arrived.

Williams was arrested the next day while outside an apartment in the same block. At the time he was charged with the robbery, he was scheduled to be sentenced to 31 months for a different burglary charge.

photo by: Kansas inmate registry

Casey L. Williams Jr. in 2020.

Williams never made it to that sentencing date. He posted a $100,000 bond a week after his arrest and has not appeared in Douglas County District Court since. Judge Kay Huff issued a warrant for his arrest after he failed to appear on Nov. 2, 2021.

Tolbert was arrested months later after the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office asked the public for help in finding him. In April, Tolbert was apprehended in the 1500 block of Wedgewood Drive by U.S. Marshals.

Tolbert was released on a $100,000 bond and is on GPS monitoring and conditional house arrest until his preliminary hearing on June 17, according to court records.

Tolbert has a prior conviction for attempted aggravated burglary and conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery, and in 2016 he was sentenced to 45 months in prison by Douglas County District Court Judge Stacey Donovan, according to court records.

photo by: Douglas County Sheriff’s Office

Wesley James Tolbert

Williams and Tolbert each face one level-three felony count of aggravated robbery and one level-four felony count of aggravated burglary in connection with the 2021 robbery.

Moreno has been held in the Douglas County Jail on $100,000 bond since the time of his arrest in October. He has no additional criminal history in Douglas County, according to court records. He was represented by defense attorney Dakota Loomis, and in accordance with his plea agreement he is facing 32 months in prison on each charge.

Senior Assistant District Attorney Seth Brackman said that the state is asking that the sentences run consecutively so that Moreno faces 64 months in prison.

Huff said that in the plea agreement the state was also asking for $12,000 in restitution for the case. She then asked Moreno if he was satisfied with his defense attorney’s work.

“I’m not sure how to answer. I’m not 100%,” Moreno said.

Moreno then said he understood the plea agreement and was ready to move forward with the case.

Huff accepted Moreno’s plea and scheduled him to be sentenced on June 14.