A 56-year-old Mt. Vernon man has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for the 2021 armed robbery of the South Tenth Street Huck’s Store in Mt. Vernon and aggravated discharge of a firearm in the direction of a Mt. Vernon Police Officer responding to the scene.
Fredrick Goss was found guilty by a Jefferson County Jury after just 40 minutes of deliberation in December. Goss first trial ended when he was shot by a responding deputy after wrestling a gun away from a Jefferson County Correctional Officer bringing him back to court in his wheelchair following a lunch break.
Goss was sentenced Thursday afternoon to 40 years on both charges with the time to be served concurrently. The discharge of a firearm charge requires 85 percent of the sentence to be completed.
In this trial, Goss refused to attend and remained at the Marion County Jail in Salem where he has been held for much of the time since the October first shooting. Public Defender Matt Vaughn only crossed examined prosecution witnesses and offered no witnesses of his own. Assistant State’s Attorney Julie Kosuzek handled the prosecution.
Goss still faces charges in connection with the escape attempt. He was charged last month with attempted murder, aggravated discharge of a firearm in the direction of a peace officer, and disarming a correctional institution employee. A preliminary hearing on those charges followed the sentencing hearing.
