Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — For almost an hour Wednesday morning, two men who allegedly robbed a Steamboat Springs convenience store on Thanksgiving Day sat in court without making eye contact with one another.

By the time the court proceeding had ended, one of the men, Gregg H. Grabowski, had pleaded guilty to felony robbery. The case against the other man, William S. Russick, was continued to early March so his attorney can continue to negotiate with the prosecution.

Under his own agreement with the district attorney's office, Grabowski, 23, pleaded guilty to robbery.

Russick still faces felony charges of aggravated robbery with an armed confederate and theft. He also faces a misdemeanor wiretapping charge for allegedly taking apart a cordless phone during the robbery that occurred just after 2 a.m. Nov. 23 at the Kum and Go south of downtown.

Grabowski faced the same charges, but they were dismissed by Deputy District Attorney Charles Feldmann when Grabowski agreed to plead guilty to the class four felony in front of 14th Judicial District Judge Richard P. Doucette.

Grabowski will be sentenced by Doucette on April 9. The former Kum and Go employee faces two to six years in prison, three years of parole and a fine of up to $500,000.

After the court proceeding, Grabowski, who was wearing a white dress shirt, tie and khaki slacks, left the courtroom. He is free on a $5,000 bond. Russick, wearing gray jail sweatsuit and hand-and-legs restraints, left the courtroom escorted by a sheriff's deputy.

Grabowski was apprehended moments after the robbery outside the convenience store he had worked at hours before the robbery.

Prosectors contend that his friend Russick, 20, stole almost $1,000 from the store.