McNeal to receive suspended sentence after plea agreement

The Wapello County Attorney's Office announced Tuesday it had entered a plea deal with Tiffany McNeal, a woman charged with aiding and abetting a robbery in Ottumwa that later led to a shootout with police.

McNeal, 36, was accused of participating in a robbery at a residence in the 800 block of South Lillian Street where an individual was shot during the attempted robbery on Aug. 3, 2018. Prosecutors charged McNeal with driving the getaway car that assisted the alleged robbers, who were Michael Paul Bibby, of Ottumwa, Dalton Wayne Cook, of Ottumwa and formerly of Fairfield, and David Roy White, of Fairfield.

Wapello County Attorney Reuben Neff issued a news release in which he explained that McNeal has agreed to plead guilty to willful injury causing bodily injury, burglary in the second degree, conspiracy to deliver methamphetamine and possession of a controlled substance – methamphetamine.

In exchange, McNeal will receive a 30-year suspended sentence, meaning she will not go to prison as long as she complies with the terms of her probation. Those terms include random urinalysis, substance abuse evaluation and treatment, no contact with her codefendants in the case, no contact with the witnesses, restrictions on social media use, exclusion from all bars, no alcohol, and to pay restitution.

Neff wrote in his news release that the state had evidence suggesting McNeal committed the crime of aiding and abetting the robbery, but the evidence was not so strong as to guarantee a conviction before a jury.

An eyewitness, who is the girlfriend of one of the defendants, asserted that McNeal planned the alleged robbery. Video footage from Walgreens and Casey's gas station show McNeal driving the vehicle the day of the robbery, and the victim of the robbery, who was also injured from a gunshot, recalls seeing McNeal driving away from the scene. Neff wrote that other witnesses could testify to speaking with McNeal after the incident, and how she was concerned she would be prosecuted for being involved.

That said, Neff wrote that the state's case was not airtight, and that the defense could allege McNeal was not a willing participant in the robbery. The other alleged occupants of the car were alleged to be armed, and in fact engaged law enforcement in a shootout later in the day after the alleged robbery. Furthermore, the girlfriend claiming to have witnessed McNeal plan the robbery appears to have made the statement hoping to lessen the criminal liability of her boyfriend, Neff wrote.

'It is a concern that a jury would discount the statements of a girlfriend of a defendant with a pending criminal matter and agree that it is a reasonable possibility that Tiffany McNeal was held at gunpoint while driving the vehicle, then hightailed herself away from the scene once any alleged armed passengers were out of the vehicle,” Neff wrote.

The person injured in the alleged robbery was transported to a hospital and treated for their injuries. Later that day, three suspects were spotted running through a drainage area located between Liberty Elementary School parking lot and a berm south of the school. According to a press release from the Wapello County Attorney, Bibby began firing a rifle at an Ottumwa Police Department vehicle operated by Police Chief Tom McAndrew.

A shootout between law enforcement and the three men ensued, during which White was killed and Bibby injured. No officers were injured in the shootout. Bibby and Cook were charged with 11 counts of attempted murder.

Neff wrote in his news release that the shootout with law enforcement occurred after McNeal allegedly left the scene, and there was not enough evidence to convince a jury she had aided and abetted an attempt to commit murder.