Sister sentenced, brother pleads guilty in robbery

A sister was sentenced to probation and her brother pleaded guilty Monday, both in connection to a case that was reported as the robbery of a 14-year-old boy last summer.

Sierra L. Irions, now 20, was sentenced to 45 days of shock incarceration and five years of probation by Judge Benjamin Lewis on Monday at the Cape Girardeau Courthouse in Jackson. Irions, who pleaded guilty last month to a reduced stealing charge, was credited time served from her time in jail after her arrest in December.

Lewis suspended the imposition of the sentence, meaning she will have no criminal record if she successfully completes five years of supervised probation, along with an anger-management course and other conditions. Lewis warned her that he would send her to prison for seven years if she fails to live up to any of them.

"You've got an opportunity to take advantage of this situation and in 10 years you could have a good home, a family and a pretty good life," Lewis said. "I want you to be one of the few who only has to come in here once. But if you make it 4-1/2 years, I'm not going to say, 'She almost made it, it's OK.' I'm going to send you to prison for the full seven years."

Ryan G. Irions

Her brother, 19-year-old Ryan G. Irions, pleaded guilty to the identical charge as his sister, all made as an agreement with prosecutors in exchange for their pleas. Lewis set sentencing for March 11.

But he warned Ryan Irions that he is awaiting a sentencing assessment report and that it may not go as well for him as it did his sister.

"It may be the same thing as your sister, but it could be that I sentence you to seven years," Lewis said.

Charges stemmed from an incident in July in which a then-14-year-old Cape Girardeau boy claimed the two were among those who jumped him on Perryville Road and stole two cellphones. No suspects were identified for nearly five months, until the victim said he recognized the pair during a chance encounter at a fast-food restaurant.

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