A Scranton man who pleaded guilty to robbing Cosmo's Cheesesteaks and holding up a cab driver will now face trial after a judge rejected his plea Wednesday.
His accomplice in the restaurant robbery, however, will head to prison.
Logan Oprisko, 22, was scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday for robbery but his defense wanted to have a weapons enhancement charge withdrawn from his original plea. So, Judge Vito Geroulo rejected the plea and sent the case to trial.
Later in the proceedings, Sharon Delguercio, 24, was sentenced to three to 18 months in Lackawanna County Prison for her role in the Scranton restaurant robbery.
On Oct. 21, Mr. Oprisko entered the restaurant and pointed a gun at the face of Ms. Delguercio, who was the manager at Cosmo's, demanding money. She handed him money from both the register and the cash deposit box.
According to police, Ms. Delguercio was feeling underpaid and taken advantage of, so she and her boyfriend, James Gonzalez, plotted to use Mr. Gonzalez's friend, Mr. Oprisko, as the gunman of a staged robbery, where each of the three would pocket $1,000.
Mr. Oprisko then got greedy and planned another robbery with Scranton resident Daniel Malpasse, 22. The pair planned to rob a McCarthy Flowered Cab driver on Oct. 27.
They called the taxi shortly before 5 a.m. and were taken to the 300 block of East Locust Street. At that time, Mr. Malpasse pressed a crowbar against the cab driver's neck to choke him while Mr. Oprisko beat him with a hammer. They demanded money, but the driver tried to explain he had already dropped his cash off. They fled after he was able to blare his horn.
After being picked up by detectives, Mr. Malpasse identified Mr. Oprisko as being his partner in the taxi incident. Detectives then asked him about the Cosmo's robbery and learned Mr. Oprisko had told Mr. Malpasse that he knew the manager's boyfriend and they had made off with $3,000 that night.
With that, detectives went back to Ms. Delguercio, who admitted to her role in the robbery.
"The real danger was to the unsuspecting co-workers and the public," Judge Geroulo said to Ms. Delguercio during her sentencing.
Mr. Gonzalez pleaded guilty to a felony of criminal attempt - theft by unlawful taking, movable property and is awaiting sentencing. Mr. Malpasse is charged with multiple counts, including robbery and aggravated assault, and is awaiting trial.
Contact the writer: jkohut@timesshamrock.com, @jkohutTT on Twitter