Man gets suspended sentence for hitting woman with gun, taking car at Streetsboro hotel

A Detroit man accused of hitting a woman in the head with her own gun at a Streetsboro hotel and then taking her sister's car has pleaded guilty and been given a suspended sentence.

Terrel J. Rickett, 32, pleaded guilty July 8 to third-degree felony robbery. Judge Laurie J. Pittman then sentenced Rickett to three years in prison, the maximum sentence under state law, but credited him with 64 days he spent in jail while his case was pending and suspended the rest of the sentence. Pittman also fined Rickett $10,000, the maximum allowed, but suspended all but $300 of it and ordered that he pay $296 in court costs. The fine and costs must be paid within three years, with Rickett having the option of performing community service at $10 per hour.

Conditions of the suspension include that he write a letter of apology and that he stay out of Portage County for at least five years.

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Streetsboro police said it was reported that Rickett struck the 26-year-old woman in the head with her .38-caliber handgun while they were at the Hampton Inn on Mondial Parkway late in the evening April 1. It was then reported Rickett took a 2008 Chevrolet Impala owned by the woman's sister, who was also there.

Rickett then apparently left the county, said police, but returned and was arrested at another Streetsboro hotel the next day. Police said the woman had a contusion on her head, but no apparent bleeding and she was not taken to a hospital.

As part of a plea deal, the robbery charge was amended down from first-degree felony aggravated robbery, which included a firearm specification. Prosecutors agreed not to prosecute Rickett on remaining charges in a grand jury indictment, including second-degree felony assault, which also came with a firearm specification, and third- and fourth-degree felony grand theft.

Reporter Jeff Saunders can be reached at jsaunders@recordpub.com.

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Suspended sentence for hitting woman with gun at Streetsboro hotel