PANAMA CITY — A Bay County judge has sentenced a Texas man to 15 years in prison for an armed robbery attempt, officials said Friday.
Conroy Orlando Thomas, 30, of Houston, was sentenced Friday to the maximum of 15 years in prison for an attempted armed robbery. During his trial last month, prosecutors showed the jury that Thomas and three other men came to Panama City from Texas to collect money from O’Neil Dwight Richards.
They approached Richards the morning of June 18 outside his Everitt Avenue home; Thomas put a gun to his ribs and told him to stay quiet or he would kill him and Richards’ family.
Instead, Richards struggled and made enough noise to attract the attention of several neighbors, who came outside and ended the attack. The four men were arrested later that day when neighbors noticed them parked in a car near Richards’ house.
A co-defendant of Thomas testified the four men were sent to Panama City by a woman in Texas who claimed Richards stole $27,000 from her. Richards denied he stole the money.
At the sentencing Friday, Thomas said he had a “minimal role” in the incident, but Assistant State Attorney Megan Ford called him the ringleader and the only one with a gun.
Circuit Judge James Fensom ordered Thomas to prison for 15 years, with a minimum mandatory of 10 years.
According to court records, Thomas was charged with first-degree murder in Fort Lauderdale in 2005 but was acquitted at trial.