Published: January 23, 2008 10:40 pm         

Plea rejected for woman accused of robbery

A plea hearing went awry Wednesday when the defendant admitted to Raleigh County Circuit Judge H.L. Kirkpatrick she was only taking the plea because she wanted to go home, not because she thought she had done anything wrong.

Bridget Rene Sizemore, 33, of Beckley, was expected to plead guilty to first-degree robbery in connection with a March 31, 2006, incident during which she allegedly broke into a Bolt residence and attempted to steal a woman’s purse at knifepoint.

At the time of the alleged crime, Sizemore was on probation for a forgery conviction. By entering a guilty plea Tuesday, Sizemore would have been sentenced to probation for the robbery and her probation for forgery would have been revoked with the underlying sentence of one to 10 years reinstated.

Sizemore, who said she was under the influence of drugs at the time of the incident, did admit to grabbing the victim’s purse but said she was not trying to rob her.

Kirkpatrick told Sizemore he could not accept the plea and told her he believed “it would be best to just set the matter for trial.”

Sizemore was returned to jail and a trial date will be set.

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Liana Viars, 35, of Beckley, was sentenced to one to 10 years in prison when Circuit Judge John Hutchison revoked her probation.

After serving a one-year sentence following a 2006 plea arrangement, Viars was placed on two years probation for an uttering conviction.

Assistant prosecutor Tom MacAulay said Viars, who was released in November 2006, failed to check in with her parole officer May 29, 2007, and was not seen again until she was arrested Jan. 3.

Viars said she failed to check in with her parole officer because she “fell off the wagon” and began using drugs again after she learned she had an illness.

Viars apologized to the court and asked for an opportunity to get clean.

“I’ve made bad choices,” she said. “I don’t believe I belong in prison. I spent a year in jail and it’s not a place I want to go back to.”

Hutchison said Viars had had several opportunities to kick her habit and turn her life around and said he believed jail time and a treatment program were the best options for her.

— E-mail: mjames

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