PENDLETON — A man took a plea deal last week for his role in a July spree of crimes, and now his alleged partner in those crimes is in custody.

Walter Vernon Higgins IV, 42, pleaded guilty on Tuesday, Oct. 27, to the unlawful use of a motor vehicle, second-degree burglary and two counts of unlawful use of a weapon, all Class C felonies, along with misdemeanor coercion and second-degree theft.

By pleading guilty to the charges, Higgins admitted to his role in stealing a vehicle, robbing more than $800 in cash from a Circle K at gunpoint and burglarizing A-Z Storage in Pendleton this July.

Umatilla County District Attorney Dan Primus confirmed Nov. 2 that his office had come to a plea agreement with Higgins, but said he couldn’t comment on its terms.

The day after Higgins officially entered his guilty plea, Ivory Ann Sylvester, 32, was taken into custody at the Umatilla County Courthouse in Pendleton. A Umatilla County Grand Jury indicted her on Oct. 23 on nine different charges, eight of which are felonies, including first-degree robbery, unlawfully furnishing a firearm, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and five counts of first-degree theft to go along with one count of second-degree theft.

Court documents indicate that Sylvester is being charged for her alleged participation in the robbery of the Southeast Court Avenue Circle K, providing Higgins the firearm used during the robbery and stealing a vehicle and four firearms. All of the crimes were allegedly committed at some point between July 10 and July 17.

Pendleton Police Chief Stuart Roberts said his department had multiple encounters with Higgins and Sylvester, who is identified as Higgins’ girlfriend in court documents, since the two arrived in the area earlier in July from Nevada.

Pendleton police responded around 1:30 a.m. on July 15 to the report of a man entering Circle K and threatening two employees inside with a firearm, taking cash and items and then fleeing west.

Court documents show that surveillance footage from that night placed a white 2006 Ford Fusion at the scene at the time of the robbery. That vehicle was reported stolen out of Pilot Rock on July 14, and then spotted by the owner’s husband on Yellow Jacket Road around 8:30 a.m. on July 15.

Pilot Rock Police Chief Bill Caldera then seized the 2006 Ford Fusion, which included items stolen from A-Z Storage and tools used during the burglary on July 14, a firearm, and clothes that matched those seen on the suspect on surveillance video from the July 17 robbery of the convenience store.

Shortly after 8 a.m. on July 17, Pendleton police received a report that a delivery vehicle for Abby’s Legendary Pizza on Southgate was broken into. Surveillance footage matched a physical description of Higgins and at one point a “very distinct back tattoo,” according to court documents.

Police later that morning located a gray Chevy truck and white cargo trailer belonging to Higgins and Sylvester at the Motel 6 on Tutuilla Road. Management confirmed the two were staying at the motel and had paid for multiple nights with cash, according to court documents.

When police attempted to contact the two at the motel, court documents state that Sylvester met officers at the main office but Higgins attempted to flee east through the motel parking lot. Higgins fled while shirtless, revealing a back tattoo that matched the one seen from the Abby’s Legendary Pizza surveillance video.

Higgins was apprehended and held on probable cause charges, but Roberts said “it was much harder to put the case together against Sylvester.”

Higgins remains in custody and is scheduled for sentencing on Nov. 30, while Sylvester is being held on $250,000 bail at the Umatilla County Jail in Pendleton before appearing for a pretrial conference on Nov. 10.