30 years in prison: Man pleads guilty to robbing 92-year-old woman at Tulsa mall

A Tulsa man is sentenced to 30 years in prison for robbing a 92-year-old woman at a Tulsa Mall and slamming her to the ground.

It happened last November. Karmello Shannon went on the run after the attack for two months and was arrested in Dallas.

He pled guilty this week as part of a plea deal, just moments before his jury trial was supposed to start.

News On 6 has been following this story since the beginning, and prosecutors say they found screenshots of our news stories on Shannon's phone, so he could keep tabs on the investigation. Prosecutors planned to use that as evidence at trial.

Crucial video evidence:

Prosecutors say the surveillance video inside the mall showing Shannon robbing and slamming the 92-year-old woman down to the ground was crucial to the DA's case.

"The boldness of it speaks for itself. What he was willing to do is, he saw one of the most vulnerable members of our community, and he decided to take advantage of that," said Assistant DA David Dossman, who prosecuted the case.

Prosecutors say the video shows Shannon and a teenage boy wandering around the victim for a few minutes, then Shannon walked up to her, ripped money out of her hand and slammed her to the ground. It happened in the middle of the day with shoppers everywhere.

The victim had a broken arm, a fractured eye socket, and needed 14 stitches.

"I think it put everyone in the mall that day in shock, and everyone that saw the video, like this would actually happen and where it did, then who it happened to," said Dossman.

Caught in Dallas:

Shannon went on the run for two months, and Tulsa Police robbery detectives and TPD street crimes worked with the ATF and Dallas Police to arrest him at a gas station in Dallas in January.

"He cut his hair, he wasn't using his own debit card or money or anything, he was actually using his girlfriend's and that's how they were able to track those purchases in Dallas and be able to apprehend him and bring him back to Tulsa," said Dossman.

"Justice served"

Prosecutors are glad Shannon pleaded guilty, so the victim didn't have to go through a trial.

"I think it really sends a message that these victims are going to be taken care of and these defendants are going to be prosecuted to the fullest expect of the law," said Dossman.

Shannon was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the robbery and a first-degree burglary, but those will run at the same time. He will have to serve 85 percent of that before he's eligible for parole.

The other suspect in the robbery pled guilty and was sentenced to ten years as a youthful offender. We asked Shannon's attorney for comment, but haven't heard back.