Two more heading to prison for assistance in armed robbery of Little Caesars
Brianna Dotson reads a letter to the court during her sentencing hearing stating that her time in jail had led her to find faith in God.
May 9, 2019
Two people were sentenced to over half a decade in prison Wednesday for their involvement in the 2018 armed robbery of Little Caesars.
Cody Belcher, 25, and Brianna Dotson, 19, were sentenced to eight years and seven years in prison, respectively, for their involvement in the robbery that occurred on May 12, 2018.
Belcher and Dotson were part of a five-person group that planned and executed a robbery at the Maple Avenue store.
Both Belcher and Dotson did not enter the establishment or directly complete the robbing, but were involved in the planning.
Prior to the robbery taking place, Dotson helped the group plan the robbery and ran through various scenarios with the men that entered the restaurant. At the time, Dotson was dating Timothy Tipton, who was sentenced to 18 years in prison for the armed-robbery.
During sentencing, Dotson said it was love that made her do it, but she sees now that she was wrong.
Belcher also assisted the group, acting as the getaway driver. Originally, Belcher was driving to Zanesville to visit his friends. It wasn’t until he was on his way to town that he was informed of the plans to rob the establishment.
On May 12, Tipton and co-defendant Justin Trago entered Little Caesars wearing dark clothing and bandannas on their faces and pointed a gun at the clerk while demanding to have a manager open the safe.
The manager then came from the back of the store to the front, opened the safe and gave the men the cash inside. The duo then demanded the drawers to the register be opened, and additional cash was stolen before they fled from the establishment toward Military Road.
Discarded clothing, hats, bandannas and trash bags were later collected, and DNA from the bandanna connected Tipton to the robbery.
Additionally, the clerk and manager told police they had recognized the voice of the man demanding money during the robbery and thought it was odd that the person knew exactly where the safe was kept.
Tipton had previously been an employee at Little Caesars.
The fifth person involved was Corey Sowers, who was an employee at the pizza shop at the time of the robbery and was in the bathroom at the time the incident occurred.
Sowers’ sentencing date is scheduled for May 13. It was recommended he also receive a seven-year sentence.
During Belcher’s sentencing, defense attorney Keith Edwards pointed out that his client was only guilty of his crime through complicity as he was not one of the men that entered the establishment and “put guns in people’s faces.”
Dotson’s attorney, Amy Otto, echoed Edwards’ remarks, stating that her client was not present at the pizza shop, nor drove in the car with the people who physically robbed the establishment.
Otto also requested that Dotson’s sentence in Muskingum County be run concurrent to a nine-year sentence she received in Licking County for similar charges.
In court, Judge Kelly Cottrill stated that Dotson had invited a man over and arranged for four other men to assault and rob him upon his arrival.
“You’re a pretty dangerous lady at this point in your life,” Cottrill said to 19-year-old Dotson, who agreed with the judge but stated that through her time in jail she has found God.
Cottrill denied Otto’s request to run the sentences concurrent, but not before Assistant Prosecuting Attorney John Litle said he hopes the Court understands that people cannot commit “free crimes” in Muskingum County.
Both Belcher and Dotson were also ordered to pay $462 in restitution.
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