Painesville woman gets 3 years for robbery

A Painesville woman was sentenced to three years in prison Feb. 27 for her role in a violent cellphone robbery in Mentor.

Paige Mazny, 20, assisted co-defendant Anthony L. Williams in a Dec. 5, 2015, incident in which two women went to the 7100 block of Mentor Avenue to buy a cellphone. The phone had been posted on the Buy-Sell-Trade Lake County Facebook page.

Mazny met with the two potential buyers and showed them the phone.

That was when the 36-year-old Chardon man, wearing a mask over his face, grabbed one of the

buyers by her throat and put a black handgun to her head. He demanded cash and both of their phones, then tossed their car keys away.

No one was injured during the incident.

Mazny previously pleaded guilty to two

counts of robbery and one count of attempted robbery before Lake County Common Pleas Judge Richard L. Collins Jr.

The judge ordered Mazny, who was represented by the Lake County Public Defender’s Office, to pay court costs and $210 in restitution to one of the victims.

Police located one of the victims’ phones at a selfservice electronics buyback location at Great Lakes Mall in Mentor.

Mentor police arrested the suspects after bidding on another stolen phone on the same Facebook page. Officers arrested the suspects after arranging to meet to complete the deal.

Williams had a BB/pellet gun at the time of his arrest. The gun was all black and had the appearance of a real firearm.

Williams is serving 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to attempted robbery and two counts each of aggravated robbery, kidnapping and robbery.

Mazny will receive credit for the 224 days behind bars she has already served.

Area police have urged sellers and buyers to be more cautious with where they meet up to complete transactions.

Mazny