COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - A Boone County judge has finally accepted a man's guilty plea on the third try to an April armed robbery.
Circuit Judge Gary Oxenhandler in January threw out Derrick O. Webster's first guilty plea because of confusion about whether Webster used a real gun to steal cash from a Columbia business.
Oxenhandler later tossed another guilty plea by Webster, because Webster said his lawyer was ineffective.
On Wednesday, Oxenhandler accepted Webster's guilty plea because Webster said his public defender had adequately represented him.
Webster pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree robbery. The Columbia Daily Tribune reports the judge sentenced him to 12 years in prison.
Two other charges against Webster were dropped in exchange for his guilty plea.