Murder, armed robbery guilty plea entered

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Matthew Higgins-Vogt, 25 Matthew Higgins-Vogt, 25

DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) – A man who pled guilty to murder will be sentenced early in 2018.

Prosecutors from the U.S. Department of Justice say Matthew Higgins-Vogt, 25, entered a guilty plea Monday to charges related to an April 2015 armed robbery.

DOJ leaders say Higgins-Vogt admitted to working with Kelton Snyder on April 3, 2015 to steal from a Circle K store (1685 S. Baltimore Ave.) in Decatur. Higgins-Vogt stole money and alcohol from behind the register as Snyder held a shotgun. Higgins-Vogt admitted to killing Paige Mars two days later because he was worried she would tell police about what happened. Mars was the getaway driver in the robbery, according to prosecutors.

A jury convicted Snyder in April 2016. She will serve life behind bars. 

Macon County deputies arrested Higgins-Vogt in April 2015. He first appeared in federal court was in February 2017.

Higgins-Vogt will appear for a sentencing hearing on Mar. 5, 2018. His three charges include brandishing a firearm during an act of violence, Hobbs Act robbery and conspiracy to commit a Hobbs Act robbery. The robbery charges carry a minimum sentence of 20 years in prison.

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