On Friday, a Torrington man was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison for taking a government stimulus check-in 2020 from another man at gunpoint and danger of injury for sexually abusing a 13-year-old girl in a separate incident. In the wake of his sentencing hearing, Jeffrey Schumacher, 21, began serving both of his sentences simultaneously. He was spared punishment because he confessed to his offenses.
Taylor Baughman, 22, had cashed a $1,200 stimulus check when Schumacher sought payment from him, and the state could prove it. On the morning of June 3, 2020, Baughman’s girlfriend Kelly McManus persuaded him to cash the check at her Granby, Connecticut, home. The trio bought and consumed wine and marijuana, then proceeded north on Route 8.
Schumacher, realizing after a talk with McManus that Baughman still had a considerable amount of cash, pulled out a revolver and ordered Baughman to turn up his wallet. Despite Baughman’s wallet containing $29, Schumacher discovered the rest of the money stashed in the car’s center console.
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When Baughman pleaded with him not to take the entire amount, Schumacher handed him $300 and instructed him not to call the police. Following an investigation, Schumacher was wanted on a warrant for robbery, fifth-degree larceny, and illegal possession of a weapon in a motor vehicle when Torrington police caught up with him months later. He was already out on bail for sexually abusing a 13-year-old girl in a church vestibule in Winsted at the time of the crime.
As an added requirement of his sentencing, Schumacher must register as a sex offender for 10 years. Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Terri L. Sonnemann said “these are big ones” of the allegations against a man without an adult record. She used Schumacher’s history of quitting positions when they conflicted with his declared responsibilities to illustrate his lack of accountability.
The prosecutor also referred to Schumacher’s daughter as an inspiration. As the defendant had put it, the child “means so much to him,” and Sonnemann echoed him.
In a passing sentence, Judge Christopher Pelosi noted Schumacher’s history of physical and emotional abuse at the hands of his birth and foster families. Stay tuned with us only on Lee Daily
