— It took a Grady County jury four hours to find Mozell "Moe" Paul Goudeau guilty of  the felony charge of robbery with a weapon Tuesday.

After learning about Goudeau's previous felony convictions, it took the same jury a mere 15 minutes to hand down a life sentence.

"We are very pleased with the jury's verdict, and we are very thankful the victim is alive and well," Grady County Assistant District Attorney Lesley March said. "This defendant is a life-long criminal with a history of violent felonies who preys on helpless, elderly victims. The sentence is appropriate for him because he has committed three violent crimes in three different counties."

Goudeau's victim, 75-year-old Charles Mackey, was also pleased with the life sentence.

"Lesley (March) said it would be 38 years before he's up for parole. I'll still be around, but I'll be living in a different place," Mackey said.

Mackey also said he wanted to thank local law enforcement and the DA's office for the outstanding job they have done in his case.

"We thank the troops for all they do, but we don't thank those who protect us locally. They do a superior job and we should be thankful we have people of this caliber to protect us," he said.



Past offenses

Goudeau was convicted of the crime of robbery with a weapon in 1991 in Tulsa County and sentenced to 15 years. At the same time, he received a first-degree burglary conviction, which also carried a 15-year sentence.

In 1994, Goudreau was sentenced to 10 years on a felony kidnapping charge in Leflore County, and in 2008, he was convicted of assault and battery upon a police officer in Greer County and sentenced to three years.



Home invasion



About 4 p.m. on July 24, 2009, Goudeau, 38, of Amber, quietly entered the front door of Mackey's Chickasha home.

He came up behind Mackey, who was sitting in his recliner in a living area at the back of the house watching TV.

Goudeau  placed one hand over Mackey's mouth and held a knife to Mackey's neck with the other hand.

He threatened to cut Mackey's throat if he moved or made any noise.

"I think they call it scared stiff," Mackey said during testimony. "I was scared to death."

Twice Goudeau asked Mackey where his safe was.

Twice Mackey said he didn't have one. Goudeau then tightly bound Mackey's hands with a piece of dirty, white rope and began to rifle through papers on Mackey's desk, picking up a laundry basket and placing items of value inside it.

Mackey said he became even more frightened when Goudeau walked around in front of him and made no attempt to hide his face.

While going through Mackey's belongings, Goudeau found a 22 caliber pistol.

"Now I don't have to cut your throat, I can shoot you with your own pistol," he told Mackey. Goudeau then went into the front of the house, where Mackey heard him going through his son's room.

Mackey said Goudeau never came back into the room, so after about eight to 10  minutes, Mackey made his way outside to seek help from a neighbor.

Although Mackey was unable to pick Goudeau out of a photo line up, he readily identified him in the courtroom.

"I will remember that face until they bury me," Mackey said. "I was convinced I was going to get shot or get my throat cut."



Other testimony



Harrison Hodge, a friend of Goudeau's, testified the two of them were at a friend's house watching TV when they saw a news story about a home invasion and robbery in Chickasha. Hodge said Goudeau, whom he called Moe, said he had committed the crime and bragged about getting away with it.

Hodge also testified Goudeau said he was planning to rob an elderly woman who had a safe in her home, saying he knew where the combination to the safe was located.

Authorities identified the woman, now deceased, and warned her about the threat of robbery.

The woman temporarily moved to another residence after learning about the possible robbery attempt.



Armonte Maurice Prince trial

 Armonte Maurice Prince, of Lawton, was also convicted of robbery with a weapon on Tuesday and was sentenced to 30 years in prison for robbing a Love's convenience store Police reports state Prince pointed a handgun at the store clerk and threatened to shoot her. He took $237 in cash from the store.