TERRE HAUTE —
A plea agreement for a convicted felon accused in a 2009 carjacking in Terre Haute has been rejected by a judge because the defendant is suspected of committing new gun-related crimes.
Tony England, 41, now faces a June 4 trial on allegations of unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, residential entry and criminal recklessness.
Terre Haute Police investigated a report that England pointed a firearm at a woman after he went to a house on Maple Avenue on Jan. 7 looking for an occupant of the residence. The alleged victim stated that England tried to enter the home, and when the woman shoved him back, he allegedly pulled out a silver handgun and pointed it at her before leaving.
A warrant for England’s arrest was issued after that incident, and police located him Jan. 12 in the back seat of a vehicle pulled over during a traffic stop. The same silver handgun allegedly used in the Jan. 7 incident was found in the backseat of the vehicle near England, police said, and drug paraphernalia also was found.
The Jan. 12 arrest led to additional charges of unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, a class-B felony, and possession of paraphernalia, a class-A misdemeanor.
England was booked into the Vigo County Jail on Jan. 12, and he appeared in court Tuesday via video from the Vigo County Jail.
Judge Michael Lewis in Vigo Superior Court 6 set the June 12 trial date after rejecting a plea agreement that had called for England to serve a 12-year sentence, with eight years being served on work release through Vigo County Community Corrections, and four years on formal probation.
The plea agreement stemmed from a March 2009 incident in which England allegedly shot a man in the abdomen at England’s home on South 12th Street. The victim told police that he went to England’s home and was attacked by another man and woman once he entered the residence. That man and woman took the victim’s wallet and car keys, and then stole the victim’s car.
The victim told police that as he ran from the residence, England followed him and shot him. The victim was treated at an area hospital and has since recovered.
Charges of attempted murder, carjacking and robbery were filed against England for the March 2009 incident, but because of a “paperwork error” in the language of the charges filed, the case was dismissed in January 2011. The charges with the corrected language were immediately filed again against England, but because of time restraints on prosecuting a criminal case, England had to be released from the Vigo County jail.
England has a 1995 conviction for armed robbery in Vigo County. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison, and according to the Indiana Department of Correction website, he was released in March 2009, about two weeks before the shooting incident.
On Tuesday, Judge Lewis appointed a public defender to handle England’s new criminal cases.
Chief Deputy Prosecutor Rob Roberts said that the Jan. 7 charges have been selected for the trial, and will likely be consolidated with the Jan. 12 charges.
The March 2009 case is still pending.
Lisa Trigg can be reached at (812) 231-4254 or lisa.trigg@tribstar.com.
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