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It took just about a year for two good kids to fall down the rabbit hole of drug addiction, which led them to commit an armed robbery at Papertown Dairy Bar in Spring Grove, their attorneys said.
Megan Alexis McDaniel and her then-boyfriend, Shane Michael Schanfelter, robbed the 267 N. Main St. restaurant at gunpoint on March 3.
McDaniel had worked at the restaurant for a period prior to the holdup, officials said.
Schanfelter later told Southwestern Regional Police the shotgun he pointed at employees of the restaurant wasn't loaded, but deputy prosecutor David Mueller said it remains unclear whether the gun was loaded or not.
One of the employees at Papertown Dairy Bar during the 10 p.m. holdup was McDaniel's
McDaniel and Schanfelter made off with $1,600, which they used to buy drugs, according to Mueller. Both were addicted to heroin at the time.
'Good family': "Megan is a good kid, comes from a good family, did well in school and went to college," said defense attorney Scott McCabe. "Even kids from good families can get sucked down into the abyss of drugs."
In McDaniel's case, it took just about a year to go from law-abiding citizen to drug-addicted robber, McCabe said.
And Schanfelter fell into the same trap, according to his defense attorney, Rick Robinson.
"They're good kids who just got caught up in the drug scene," he said. "Shane has no prior record."
Mueller doesn't dispute that drugs fueled the robbery, and that the defendants lacked the criminal history often seen in people who progress to serious crimes such as robbery.
"That's what's so troubling about this whole thing," he said. "It highlights what drugs are doing to our community."
Prison: McDaniel, 20, of South East Street, pleaded guilty Thursday to three counts of robbery. She also pleaded guilty in four separate cases to retail theft, driving under the influence and two incidents of possession of drug paraphernalia.
As part of a negotiated plea agreement, she was sentenced to three to six years in state prison, followed by a year of probation. She must also pay $800 in restitution.
Schanfelter, 20, of Hershey Road in North Codorus Township, pleaded guilty Aug. 21 to three counts of robbery. His sentencing was deferred until Sept. 27, to allow him to take care of a medical condition prior to going to prison, according to Mueller.
As part of a negotiated agreement, Schanfelter will be sentenced to 31/2 to seven years in state prison and ordered to pay $800 in restitution, the prosecutor said.
According to court records, McDaniel and Schanfelter wore masks during the stickup, and Schanfelter held a pump-action shotgun to the manager's head and cocked it while demanding money.
-- Staff writer Liz Evans Scolforo can also be reached at levans@yorkdispatch.com.
