Ashland, Ore. — Three Ashland High School seniors were arrested by police after the robbery of a pizza delivery driver. The suspects played on the football team this past fall.
Ashland Police said 18-year-old Michael Pruitt, 17-year-old James Hutchings, and 17-year-old Mel Elshalom were arrested Tuesday night.
According to the Jackson County District Attorney all three are facing second degree robbery charges, a measure 11 offense that carries a mandatory minimum sentence of nearly six years in prison.
Pruitt was arraigned in Jackson County Court Wednesday. His attorney tried to get the high school student’s bail reduced and said he’s been accepted to college and has a scholarship. The judge set his bail at $50,000 after the state repeated the seriousness of the charges.
Word of the popular student athletes arrests shocked their classmates.
“They’re really good guys to be around they just made a stupid decision,” friend Stanley Graham said.
Ashland Police said Pruitt, Hutchings, and Elshalom called Great American Pizza Company for a delivery Monday night. But when the employee arrived to Mohawk and Terra Avenue she was approached by the three teens on the street.
Deputy Chief Warren Hensman said one of the suspects pressed a stun gun into her back and demanded pizza and cash. She gave them the pizza and got away uninjured.
“This type of crime can not be tolerated. We can’t have our citizens in fear when they’re out walking around our city,” Hensman said.
Surveillance photos led police to the teenagers.
“It’s sad to me because all these guys had good paths to go to school and go to college and have a bright future,” Graham said.
Requests to Ashland School District’s superintendent and Ashland High School’s principal for comment have not been returned.
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