News
Degarmore Pleads, Will Testify In Murder Trial
By: Susan Tebben | The Athens Messenger
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A Glouster man charged in connection with a murder case pleaded guilty to related charges and agreed to testify against his brother-in-law who is accused of murder.
Robert Degarmore, 52, was sentenced to six months on each of two charges of receiving stolen property. One charge, for complicity to the theft of a credit card, is a fifth-degree felony. The other charge, for receiving gas paid for with the card, is a first-degree misdemeanor.
Degarmore will serve the sentence concurrent with another sentence he received March 4 for violating his community control on an unrelated drug case. In that case he was sentenced to an underlying sentence of 18 months for using heroin while on community control and assisting in removing property belonging to the Paul E. Roberts.
Paul E. Roberts was found dead under his Locust Street home’s porch in October. His son, Paul J. Roberts, is facing aggravated murder, murder and other related charges in connection with the death of his father.
Degarmore is the brother of Rhonda Degarmore who is married to Paul J. Roberts. He has agreed to testify against Roberts in a jury trial, scheduled for June 3.
The indictment for Degarmore came in January, three months after Paul J. Roberts was indicted.
In previous court hearings in regard to his community control violations, Degarmore was shown on surveillance cameras at a gas station in Glouster pumping gas after a man identified as Paul J. Roberts swiped a credit card at the pump.
Rhonda Degarmore pleaded guilty to charges of felony receiving stolen property and theft related to the same case. She was also charged with obstruction of justice for misleading police as to where the body of Paul E. Roberts was during the investigation.
Rhonda Degarmore also pleaded guilty to the charges in exchange for her testimony against her husband. She received a sentence of almost five years in prison in December.