ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – The accomplice in a robbery and murder of a dialysis center social worker took a plea deal in court on Friday.
April Coger, 25, was sentenced to 17.5 years in prison for robbery and first-degree murder in the death of Gregory Whitbeck, 55.
Deputies say Coger and Kenny Chaney went on a crime spree Dec. 2, 2016. The duo robbed three people at gunpoint, Whitbeck was the final victim and was shot by Chaney during the robbery, according to authorities.
Employees at the dialysis clinic on West Colonial Drive attempted life-saving efforts, but Whitbeck died.
Coger admits to driving the getaway car.
During the plea hearing, family members gave emotional impact statements to the judge, asking for a strict sentence. Whitbeck leaves behind a 13-year-old daughter, and his sister told the judge the family has been torn apart by his loss.
“Nobody can tell, nobody can know, the excruciating pain this family has gone through, nobody,” a family member said.
Whitbeck's mother and another sister also testified. Coger wrote a handwritten letter to the judge asking for furlough to see her 3- and 6-year-old children