SKOWHEGAN — A local man convicted by a jury of robbing a Madison convenience store will spend at least 20 years in prison.
In June, a Somerset County jury found Raymond Ellis, 35, guilty of Class A robbery, Class C criminal threatening, and Class E theft by unauthorized taking, all in connection with the Aug. 5 robbery of the Big Apple store on Old Point Avenue in Madison. For those charges, a judge on July 8 sentenced Ellis to 25 years in prison, with all but 20 years suspended, and four years of probation.
During Ellis’ trial in the Somerset County Superior Courthouse in Skowhegan, Justice Robert Mullen also found Ellis guilty of Class C illegal possession of a firearm, for which Ellis was sentenced to three years in prison to be served concurrently with the other prison sentence.
The Somerset County Sheriff’s Office announced it charged Ellis in connection with the robbery in January after a five-month investigation.
At the time, Ellis was already being held at the Somerset County Jail in Madison on several charges related to a separate Nov. 8 incident in which authorities said he led police on a chase through downtown Skowhegan after a detective tried to execute a drug search warrant.
During his trial, prosecutors presented evidence that Ellis and two teenagers robbed the Big Apple store on Aug. 5, taking $295, seven packs of cigarettes, two Mountain Dew sodas, and the store clerk’s wallet.
Detective David Cole of the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office, the lead investigator of the case, testified that a gun seized from Ellis’ vehicle after the Nov. 8 police chase matched the description of one of two guns used in the robbery. The police chase was not mentioned during Ellis’ trial.
Prosecutors, in part, relied on testimony from the two others that participated in the robbery with Ellis. The two were also charged for their respective roles but agreed to reduced sentences in exchange for testifying at Ellis’ trial.
Seth Johnson, 19, of Skowhegan, who said in testimony that he acted as the getaway driver for the trio, agreed to testify in Ellis’ case in exchange for a reduced sentence. The sentence of five years in prison, with all but 90 days suspended, and four years of probation, was set to begin Aug. 2., prosecutors said during Ellis’ trial.
The other teenage co-defendant, now 18, agreed to testify in exchange for the dismissal of a charge of robbery in juvenile court, prosecutors said.
In a sentencing memo filed with the court, First District Attorney Timothy Snyder wrote that Ellis has a “commitment to a criminal lifestyle.”
Ellis’ previous criminal convictions include seven felonies and a federal firearms conviction for which he served 10 years, Snyder wrote. Ellis was 19 when he began that sentence.
Jennifer Cohen, Ellis’ attorney, wrote in her sentencing memo that Ellis has a “significant history” of diagnosed mental health disorders. Cohen also asked the court to consider the effects of Ellis’ lengthy federal imprisonment on his development during young adulthood.
