Newport
Debra Pitts will serve five years of a five- to 10-year prison sentence, something Sullivan County Attorney Marc Hathaway said was “appropriate” given the serious nature of the offenses and Pitts’ prior criminal record.
“Drug addiction and the desire to obtain drugs cannot ever excuse this type of behavior,” Hathaway said during Pitts’ plea and sentencing hearing in Sullivan Superior Court in Newport. “(We) hope that Ms. Pitts can rehabilitate herself.”
Pitts’ public defender, Lisa Wellman-Ally, also said she felt the resolution to the case was “appropriate,” adding that she hopes programming is available to Pitts to help her combat her substance abuse issues.
“(That way), when she gets out on parole, she will be able to move forward with her life,” Wellman-Ally said before Judge Brian Tucker.
The victim in the case, Daniel Tarajkowski, supported the plea agreement made by the prosecution and defense, Hathaway said.
Pitts elected not to address the court when asked by Tucker. At the outset of the hearing, Pitts told Tucker she has been treated for depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and borderline personality disorder. She also has been treated for a heroin addiction and all substances “you use with a needle,” she said.
Pitts pleaded guilty to charges of armed robbery with a deadly weapon and conspiracy to commit armed robbery with a deadly weapon.
The plea agreement called for her to serve five years of a five- to 15-year sentence on the conspiracy charge, but Tucker shortened the maximum sentence to 10 years, saying, “long periods of parole are not particularly effective.”
On the armed robbery charge, Pitts received a suspended 7½- to 15-year sentence. Upon her release, she will remain supervised for 10 years.
She also was ordered to have no contact with Tarajkowski and to pay $308 in restitution to Domino’s as well as $1,303 to the pizza chain’s insurance company, which handled Tarajkowski’s workers’ compensation claim.
Pitts, who also faces an accomplice to an armed robbery charge out of Grafton County, likely will serve her sentence on that charge at the same time she serves time for her role in the Claremont incident, Hathaway said.
According to Hathaway’s version of events, which he read aloud in court on Wednesday, someone placed an order for a pizza at Domino’s on April 15, and the callback number traced to Pitts’ phone. When Tarajkowski arrived at Pitts’ Trinity Street apartment around 12:45 a.m., Pitts and another woman, allegedly Claremont resident Jennifer Tozzi, ordered him to hand over money, but when he refused, Pitts stabbed him while Tozzi allegedly grabbed his wallet. The women took some cash and then fled.
The two were arrested by Claremont police later the same day.
In an interview, Tozzi allegedly told police that “she thinks” the motive for the robbery was to procure money for drugs, according to an affidavit.
She died from illness in mid-May; the charges against her have been dropped.
A third Claremont resident, 32-year-old David Pacetti, also faces charges in connection with the incident. Police said he helped the two women hide and provided Tozzi with a disguise. He has pleaded not guilty to hindering apprehension, among other charges, and is scheduled to appear on July 6 in the Newport courthouse.
Jordan Cuddemi can be reached at jcuddemi@vnews.com or 603-727-3248.