Corbin man pleads guilty to tobacco store burglary

A Corbin man pleaded guilty Tuesday to breaking into a local tobacco store and stealing cash and cigarettes, but can have the incident removed from his record if he remains out of legal trouble for the next five years.

Dallas T. Brock, who was arrested on May 6 in connection with the burglary at The Mohican Gift Shop on U.S. 25W in Corbin, pleaded guilty to charges of third-degree burglary, first-degree criminal mischief and theft by unlawful taking of the value over $500.

In return for the guilty plea, the agreement called for Brock to be sentenced to five years in prison on each count. The sentence is subject to pretrial diversion for five years.

“It is kind of like probation only better, Whitley Circuit Court Judge Paul Winchester told Brock explaining that if Brock has no further legal issues in that time period that charges would be expunged from his record.

“It will be like it didn’t happen,” Winchester said.

Winchester warned Brock that should he violate the terms of the diversion there would be no jury trial.

Instead a hearing would be held and if the court determined that Brock had violated the terms, he would be ordered to serve the prison sentence.

Corbin Police Sgt. James Miller arrested Brock at the scene as he attempted climbed out of the drive-thru window of the building off of Exit 25 with $1,151 in cash and a garbage bag containing assorted cartons of cigarettes valued at $1,428.

According to police, an alarm sounded when Brock broke out the window to gain entry into the store.