LEEDS — A second person has been charged in the strongarm robbery of a Leeds woman on July 16, Steven Nevel, public information officer for state police Troop F, said on Wednesday.
John L. Prosser, 52, of Cairo, was charged on Monday with second-degree robbery, a class C felony. April Cogswell, 35, also of Cairo, was arrested on the same charge July 20, Nevel said.
The couple is accused of “subjecting a woman to physical force” in her driveway at her home on Route 23B and taking her purse and cell phone, Nevel said. No further details were released.
Police did not say whether the couple knew the victim.
When police arrested Prosser, they located Burpenorphine/Naloxone film strips in his wallet. Prosser was not in possession of the originally prescribed container and was unable to provide proof of prescription. He was also charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, a class A misdemeanor, Nevel said.
Prosser and Cogswell were arraigned in Town of Catskill Court before Justice William R. Jacobs and were released, pending their next court appearance.
New York penal law defines second-degree robbery as forcibly stealing property from another while assisted by another person who is present at the crime.
Second-degree robbery is considered a class C violent felony and carries a minimum sentence of three and a half years and a maximum of 15 years in prison if convicted. The judge may also impose a fine as well as restitution to the victim, according to NY penal law.