An Iola man is expected to be sentenced Monday for robbing a payday loan business at gunpoint in August of 2019. He evaded authorities by jumping into the Neosho River and floating away on a log, before turning himself in a week later.
Aaron Hutton agreed to a plea bargain Sept. 1.
Hutton is expected to receive a prison sentence of 102 months, or about eight and a half years, with credit for the time he’s already served in Allen County Jail, according to the terms of the agreement. The judge is not required to abide by the agreement, but in most cases will do so.
Hutton is expected to plead no contest to three charges: aggravated robbery, theft and obstructing apprehension. A charge of kidnapping was dismissed.
Hutton was arrested Aug. 28 when he walked into the Iola Police Department with his hair cut and dyed, and his face cleanly shaven, quite a different look from the last time law enforcement saw him as he floated down the river, grasping onto a log and with long, dark hair.
The incident began the morning of Aug. 21, when a masked man robbed at gunpoint and took an undisclosed amount of cash from Advance America, a payday loan business at 523 N. State St. He left in an employee’s vehicle, which was later found hidden and abandoned.
Hutton was later seen going door-to-door in Humboldt, attempting to enter a number of houses, according to reports from the Register and police at the time. He fled when spotted by law enforcement, and was chased to the Neosho River where he was seen jumping into the water.
He first tossed a backpack onto the river bank, which law enforcement recovered. It contained cash, a mask and gun.
Officers, aided by a Kansas Highway Patrol helicopter, kept tabs on Hutton but lost sight of him when the helicopter left to refuel. He was last seen holding onto the log in the river.
An Iola man, Robert Alvin Peterson, was arrested on suspicion of aiding Hutton. He also agreed to a plea deal on a charge of obstruction of justice and was sentenced Sept. 17 to 30 days in jail, suspended in favor of six months of unsupervised probation and fined $358.
