News
Foodland Robber Sentenced to 18 Years in Prison
By: Sarah Hawley | Athens Messenger staff reporter
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A Lancaster man has pleaded guilty to robbing the Foodland store in The Plains two years ago and will spend the next several years behind bars.
Michael James Fette, 48, entered a guilty plea on Monday to one count each of aggravated robbery and kidnapping, both first degree felonies, in connection with the July 2013 grocery store robbery.
Judge George McCarthy sentenced Fette to a total prison term of 18 years, with 15 years running concurrent to his current sentences from other counties.
Fette is currently incarcerated in Richland Correctional Institution, according to a state database, for convictions from Huron, Logan, Champaign and Knox counties. Including the time he is sentenced to from Athens County, Fette is not expected to be released from prison until 2046.
The store was robbed at gun point near closing time on July 17, 2013. The suspect, later identified as Fette, came into the store telling employees he had lost his cell phone. He asked employees if he could look at the back of the store, according to previous Messenger reporting.
When the store closed for the night, Fette allegedly returned to the front of the store, pulled a handgun and told three employees to get on the floor. He allegedly then told employees to take money out of the safe and tied the employees together with zip ties.
The employees were then placed in a room near the deli, investigators said, before Fette left through a side door. He allegedly fled in a Hyundai Sonata or similar vehicle with approximately $15,000.
Employees were able to break the ties and were not injured in the incident, according to previous reporting.
One month later, Fette was arrested in Huron County after allegedly attempting another robbery, in which he allegedly tied up employees and stole $30,000.
Fette was also ordered to pay $13,000 in restitution to Foodland.
According to court documents, Fette has also been convicted of or pleaded guilty to multiple robbery and aggravated robbery offenses in Kentucky and West Virginia, with the offenses dating back to 1993.