Man pleads guilty in 2015 armed robbery in Carroll County

HUNTINGDON, Tenn. — A man charged in a violent 2015 robbery in Carroll County has pleaded guilty, according to the district attorney’s office.

Richard Leonard, 41, of Byhalia, Miss., pleaded guilty Monday to armed robbery and now faces 17 years in prison, according to a release from the office of District Attorney General Matthew Stowe.

In October 2015, Leonard reportedly drove a stolen truck from Henderson County into Carroll County where he pulled onto the lawn of a local residence.

When the woman who lived at the home came outside to see what was happening, she was struck in the back with a gun. Leonard then robbed the woman and stole her vehicle, according to the release.

Police could not locate Leonard until months later when a relative identified him to authorities. He had been arrested for auto theft in Shelby County where he was being held in jail, according to the release.

Investigators with the Carroll County Sheriff’s Department linked Leonard to the crime using DNA from a travel kit he had left behind.

Leonard faces additional pending charges in two Tennessee counties as well as an additional four and a half years to serve for the Florida Department of Corrections.