A man accused of twice robbing the Speedway in Burlington pleaded guilty to the charges against him Wednesday in Lawrence County Common Pleas Court.

Harold L. Fuller, Jr., 49, of

217 Township Road 1019, South Point, pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery. Judge D. Scott Bowling sentenced Fuller to a total of eight years in prison.

Fuller’s attorney, Mike Gleichauf, said drugs were to blame for Fuller’s brush with the law.

“Mr. Fuller has been possessed by a demon known as crack cocaine,” Gleichauf said. “I have had the opportunity to know him and when he is sober he is a likeable and intelligent person who would not even consider doing these acts. When he is possessed by crack cocaine he makes bad choices.”

Fuller apologized to “the citizens of Lawrence County for my behavior” and apologized to the employees of Speedway for what he had done. He also praised Gleichauf for representing him.

He said he robbed the Speedway twice in two days to get money to buy crack and said the drug takes complete control of him when he uses it.

Fuller told Bowling he never had a gun when he robbed the store, only a crack pipe in his pocket.

Also Wednesday, Jonathan W. Rice, 50, of 2434 ? S. Sixth St., Ironton, was sentenced to four years in prison for a burglary conviction. He may be eligible for judicial release after two years if he stays out of trouble while he is in prison.

Judge Charles Cooper gave Rice credit for time served in jail awaiting resolution of his case.

Alvin Lewis, 36, of 95 Private Drive 2183, Chesapeake, admitted Wednesday he violated the terms of his probation, or community controlled sanctions (CCS). Bowling sentenced him to three years in prison.

Lewis may be eligible for judicial release after six months but if he is released early he will be placed on probation again.

“I’m sorry about this,” Lewis told Bowling. “I hope to take care of this matter, get it taken care of.”

Bowling admonished Lewis to “behave yourself while you’re in there.”

Assistant Lawrence County Prosecutor Brigham Anderson said Lewis, who was on probation for a domestic violence conviction, failed to report to probation authorities and therefore failed to get an ankle bracelet for electronically monitored home confinement, which was part of his original sentence.

Melissa Schwab, 31, of 315 Mastin Ave., was sentenced Wednesday to 11 months in prison with the possibility of judicial release after four months for an attempted forgery conviction.

Schwab was originally sentenced to a rehabilitation program at the STAR Criminal Justice Center but was found ineligible for the program because of medication she is taking for bi-polar disorder.

Maurice L. Pleasant, 49, of Reynoldsburg, was arraigned Wednesday on four counts of criminal non-support. Two of the counts of felonies and two are misdemeanors. Cooper set an own recognizance (OR) bond of $10,000 and scheduled a May 7 pretrial conference.

Katrina Phelps, 46, of 223 Township Road 1186, South Point, pleaded guilty to four counts of complicity to trafficking in powder cocaine. She will be sentenced April 16.

Also Wednesday, Ted Arrington, 30, of 96 Private Drive 10948, Chesapeake, pleaded guilty to theft by deception and was sentenced to four years

probation and was ordered to pay $1,700 to Oak Hill Banks.

Travis Wickline, 19, of Charleston, W.Va., pleaded guilty to receiving stolen property and was sentenced to one year in prison.