Couple given probation for bilking elderly woman

VALPARAISO | Porter County Superior Court Judge Mary Harper accepted a plea agreement Wednesday for a Michigan City couple who pleaded guilty to stealing more than $100,000 from an elderly, blind Chesterton woman they were caring for.

The plea agreement imposes an eight-year prison sentence for both Bary and Robbin Bostic with the couple getting credit for the 252 days already served and the rest to be served on probation. They also must reimburse the victim and must take part in a program of intensive monitoring and classes.

Robbin, 40, and Bary, 48, pleaded guilty in June to stealing gold, silver and platinum coins and bars, jewelry and cash between January and April 2012. They reportedly have returned about three-fourths of the stolen assets.

Police said they were alerted to the theft March 16 after responding to a burglary complaint at the woman's downtown area home. She was living in a Michigan City hotel because of a mold problem, which police later found to be minimal enough not to warrant moving out.

Police learned the Bostics rented a storage unit in their name with a check from the woman, and they took gold, silver and platinum coins and bars valued at more than $220,000 to sell to a jeweler. Robbin Bostic had a wedding ring set belonging to the victim but claimed it was a gift from the woman.

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Couple given probation for bilking elderly woman