By Conrad Dudderar
Staff Writer
A Yukon felon has been sentenced to five years in prison after being convicted in an armed heist at a Yukon-area convenience story.
Charles Anthony Fron, 34, pleaded no contest Jan. 17 to two counts of robbery with a weapon in Canadian County District Court. He was convicted of the felony charges for using a knife in November 2021 to rob Casey’s convenience store, 141 N Mustang Road.
Fron appeared with attorney Jason Spanich to enter a negotiated plea at a court hearing before District Judge Paul Hesse.
After the defendant waived his right to a jury trial, Judge Hesse accepted the no contest plea and found him guilty.
Pursuant to a plea agreement, Fron was sentenced to serve 20 years in state Department of Corrections’ custody, with five years in prison and 15 years suspended. He was given credit for time served.
Judge Hesse ordered Fron to be supervised by the state DOC after his release from prison while on probation. Fron also must pay $351 in restitution.
Fron, who was booked into the Canadian County Jail on Dec. 1, 2021, will be transferred to state prison to serve the rest of his time.
Fron already was a convicted felon when he robbed the Casey’s store on Mustang Road, just south of Interstate 40.
The felony crime of robbery with a weapon is punishable by not less than five years in prison.
However, Fron faced 10 years to life in prison because of his prior felony conviction.
He was convicted of aggravated robbery on Feb. 11, 2015, in Sedgwick County, Kan. District Court. He was on parole when the November 2021 armed robbery occurred in Canadian County.
Oklahoma City Police investigated the crime. The store has a Yukon address but is in Oklahoma City’s jurisdiction.
HEY, GIVE ME SOME SMOKES
Officers were dispatched at 12:25 p.m. Nov. 28, 2021, to the Casey’s store on a reported armed robbery. The victims’ accounts were summarized in a police report signed by officer Brady Hatch.
Once there were no customers in the store, a male suspect – later identified as Fron – asked one employee for some cigarettes or cigars.
While this employee turned around to grab them, the suspect walked into the backroom where the second employee was. He pulled a knife out of his right pocket, holding it down to his side.
Fron told the employees that “he wanted all of the money out of both of the registers,” according to the police report.
So, they grabbed the cash from the registers and handed it to him.
Fron did not take either employee’s personal belongings but walked both victims into a back hallway behind the registers and “told them not to move,” according to the report.
The suspect fled northbound on foot. He had pushed the interior metal handle of the front door, so officer Hatch later collected DNA swabs for analysis.
Surveillance video footage of the armed robbery corroborated the victims’ story. It also showed Fron grabbing a pack of cigarettes or cigars that were on the counter.
