The second of two men indicted for the armed holdup of a Washington gas station/convenience store is free on probation after pleading guilty to the crime. Jacob M. Sanor, 19, Warrenton, pleaded guilty to second-degree armed robbery and misdemeanor stealing in the Sept. 17, 2013, holdup of the Fas-Trip station at Highway 47 and Fifth Street. Under a plea bargain, Sanor was given a 12-year suspended sentence and placed on five years’ supervised probation as part of the suspended execution sentence (s.e.s). He also was given a one-year s.e.s. on the stealing charge and ordered to serve 120 days’ shock time in the county jail and was given credit for time served. He was ordered to serve two years’ bench probation on that charge. A charge of armed criminal action was dismissed as part of the plea bargain. Under an s.e.s., Sanor could be ordered to serve the 12 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections if he violates terms of his probation. Law enforcement officers were surprised by the decision to recommend probation for Sanor and co-defendant, Cornelius R. Balch, 21, who earlier received a 10-year s.e.s. for his role in the robbery. Balch was placed on five years’ supervised probation. “It’s disappointing that a conviction on a Class B felony armed robbery warrants probation,” Washington Police Chief Ken Hahn remarked. Prosecuting Bob Parks, however, said he agreed to probation in the armed robbery “based on the strength of the case.” “We didn’t have a rock solid case to take to a jury,” Parks told The Missourian. The defendants did not confess and because they wore masks and hoods, “we didn’t have a positive ID,” Parks explained. Authorities alleged that Sanor committed the actual robbery and wielded a large kitchen knife when he demanded cash from a clerk as Balch stood watch. The robbery was caught on a surveillance camera located in the convenience store. After being given an undisclosed amount of money, the two fled on foot toward the Mercy Hospital parking lot, according to witness statements. Police believe they left in a vehicle that was parked nearby. Following the robbery, the suspects drove to Warren County and about an hour later wrecked the vehicle on Route TT, east of Dutzow. Information obtained from that wreck, investigated by the Missouri Highway Patrol, led detectives here to start looking at possible suspects. Several days after the holdup, police questioned Sanor and another man, and later obtained a search warrant for an apartment where some of the suspects had been staying. Under terms of his probation, Sanor is barred from entering any Fas-Trip stations/convenience stores and is required to perform 50 hours of community service over the next two years.