Third person pleads guilty to using stolen car, BB guns to rob Wythe County I-81 travel plaza

WYTHE COUNTY, Va. – A third person has pleaded guilty to using a stolen car and BB guns to rob the I-81 travel plaza in Wythe County. 

Christyen Sumpter, 27, of Sarasota, Florida, pleaded guilty Thursday in U.S. District Court in Abingdon to a slew of federal charges. Two others, Perla Pineda-Osorio and Michael Wilson, both pleaded guilty to the same charges as Sumpter earlier this month. 

Prosecutors say that on May 28, 2018, someone in South Carolina picked up Sumpter, Pineda-Osorio and Wilson, who all posed as hitchhikers. The trio then reportedly pulled guns on the driver and demanded he take them to several ATMs to withdraw money from his account. 

After the trio took the man's money, they abandoned him on the side of the road and stole his car. They then reportedly went to Charlotte and robbed a convenience store. Prosecutors say they also robbed a convenience store in Jonesville, North Carolina. 

Later that night, the trio committed another robbery at the I-81 travel plaza in Wythe County, according to prosecutors. 

Soon after, law enforcement spotted the stolen car and a high-speed chase began. The car eventually crashed and the three were taken into custody. 

The guns were recovered and although they looked like real guns, authorities say they were BB guns. 

Wilson, Osorio-Pineda and Sumpter all face a maximum of 35 years in prison and will be sentenced in October. 

The trio pleaded guilty to charges of one count each of robbery by threatening physical violence, transporting a vehicle in interstate commerce knowing the same vehicle was stolen, and conspiracy to commit robbery, possess a motor vehicle that had crossed a state boundary after being stolen and transporting in interstate commerce a vehicle that had been stolen.