ITHACA, N.Y. – An Ithaca man facing charges for several separate crimes including the armed robbery of an elderly Enfield couple was sentenced to prison time in Tompkins County Court last Friday.
Benjamin S. Spradlin, 42, pleaded guilty in March to first-degree robbery after his arrest for robbing the couple at their home around 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 12, 2016. Court records say Spradlin entered the residence and demanded money from the woman, who was home at the time watching TV.
The woman said she called to her husband, who was working on a project in the basement. When her husband got to the top of the stairs, the woman said Spradlin pointed a pistol at her husband while demanding money. After the husband gave the defendant his wallet, police say Spradlin ran toward a nearby cornfield.
Related: Ithaca man pleads guilty to robbing elderly couple at gunpoint
At the time of the robbery, Spradlin was also facing separate charges for an incident which occurred three months earlier. Spradlin was arrested on Aug. 7, 2016 after the Ithaca Police Department responded to a call reporting that a man had been slumped over for hours in the driver’s seat of a vehicle parked at Tops.
Police say Spradlin appeared to be impaired but got out of the vehicle when they asked him to exit. Upon searching his vehicle, police say they found approximately 26 grams of crack cocaine, eight grams of heroin, a handgun, a stun gun and a ninja star. Police say they also found at least $8,000 worth of U.S. savings bonds that they believed were related to robberies.