story courtesy of the Tyler Morning Telegraph
By DAYNA WORCHEL
Staff Writer
A Smith County jury sentenced a 22-year-old Tyler man to 20 years in prison Tuesday after he pleaded guilty on Monday to a charge of aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony.
The sentencing took place in the 241st District Court with Judge Jack Skeen Jr. presiding.
Marquette Bernard Johnson, who faced a punishment range of probation to life in prison, will have to serve at least 10 years of the sentence before he is eligible for parole, Smith County Assistant District Attorney Jason Parrish said. Johnson has committed no other offenses, Parrish said.
In the early morning hours of Sept. 2, Johnson, along with Jeremy Antoine Black, 22, entered the Texas Donuts store on South Vine Avenue and robbed two employees there using a firearm, Parrish said.
Black also pleaded guilty to a charge of aggravated robbery in February and was sentenced at that time to 30 years in prison, Parrish said.
