Teen guilty in party robbery

Rufus Gates, 17, of 326 Bass Drive, pleaded guilty last week to second-degree burglary.

Circuit Judge Maite Murphy sentenced Gates to a maximum of five years under the Youthful Offender Act.

Gates also faced the following charges, but they were dismissed: possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, armed robbery and six counts of kidnapping.

In addition, Evelyn Mozelle Smith-Asbury, 26, of 110 Goodwin Road, Orangeburg, pleaded guilty to misprision of a felony.

Murphy sentenced her to prison for five years, but suspended the term to one year of probation.

She was originally charged with five counts of accessory after the fact of a felony. She had been accused of driving Gates and co-defendant Alexander Lamar Outlaw to and from the incident location on Dec. 15, 2015.

Those charges against Smith-Asbury were dismissed.

Outlaw, 25, pleaded guilty in November 2016 to attempted armed robbery, a weapons violation and three counts of kidnapping. He is serving a 10-year prison sentence.

His projected release date is Jan. 20, 2025.

Police said that Gates and Outlaw stormed into a room at Santee’s Delta Motel, located on Bass Drive, at 9 p.m. on Dec. 15 where a group of four children and two adults were gathered to celebrate a child’s birthday.

Police said both men were armed and pushed all six of the victims into a corner of the room and demanded that a man give them his property.