Hooks, 18, gets nine years for robbing store
A local teen found out a year can make all the difference in the world as he was sentenced to nine years in prison for his role in the robbery of Jackie’s Deli last October.
The defendant, Walter Edward Hooks,18, entered a guilty plea before Circuit Court Judge Bart Stanley Wednesday to the charge of aggravated robbery. He was sentenced to serve nine years as a range-one offender, meaning he could become eligible for parole after serving 30 percent of his sentence.
His plea comes after he and partner in crime, Terrence Mathis, 16, robbed Jackie’s Deli on Old Shelbyville Road near Jacksboro on Oct. 10 of last year. Lawmen believe it was Hooks who held the owners at gunpoint, robbing them of $76 cash. The teens were caught hiding at Hooks’ mother’s home a few miles from the scene of the robbery.
The fact Hooks was 18 meant he received a more significant sentence than did his younger accomplice. Mathis entered a plea in juvenile court a few months ago and was ordered held with the Department of Youth Development until his 19th birthday. Prosecutors had sought to have Mathis tried as an adult but the juvenile court found there was not enough factors to warrant transfer to an adult court. Like Hooks, Mathis would have faced eight to 12 years in prison had he been tried as an adult.