BY KEITH EPPS
A young Stafford County man admitted yesterday that he robbed a restaurant from which he was fired only hours earlier.
Lorenzo M. Herbert, 20, pleaded guilty in Stafford Circuit Court to six charges, including robbery, abduction for pecuniary gain and using a firearm in the commission of a felony.
His plea ended a jury trial and came just after prosecutors Mark McDonald and Tara Mooney wrapped up their evidence.
According to the evidence, Herbert was fired from the McDonald's at 766 Warrenton Road about 7:40 p.m. Feb. 15.
He came back just before closing time that night and told employees he was going to hang out there for a while.
Shortly after midnight, after all of the customers and most of the workers were gone, Herbert confronted employee Michelle Ashenfelder and pushed her to the safe and ordered her to open it.
Ashenfelder knew it was Herbert and initially thought he was joking. But she opened the safe after Herbert put a mask over his face and displayed a pellet gun that looked like a real 9mm, according to the evidence.
At the robber's insistence, Ashenfelder took two teenage employees into a walk-in cooler. But one of the teens walked out of the cooler and questioned Herbert about his activities.
Herbert was quoted as saying, "I'm robbing McDonald's. [expletive] McDonald's."
Herbert left the store with $2,803 in cash, but he didn't get far. Deputy Chris Armitage saw Herbert walking in the England Run area shortly after the robbery and took him into custody without incident.
All of the money was recovered and the mask was found in Herbert's pocket, Mooney said.
Soon after his arrest, Herbert gave a statement to police in which he claimed that pressure to pay bills inspired the robbery.
"I got fired from my job, and guess the evil just came out of me," Herbert wrote.
Herbert was also convicted of wearing a mask in public, brandishing a firearm and possession of marijuana.
He will be facing a maximum penalty of two life sentences plus nine years in prison when he is sentenced Sept. 24.
Keith Epps: 540/374-5404
Email: kepps@freelancestar.com