Man guilty in slaying of woman who threatened to expose him

HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) -- A western Maryland man has pleaded guilty to killing a woman who police say had threatened to turn him in for two armed robberies.

Twenty-seven-year-old Anthony Minnick pleaded guilty Monday in Hagerstown to first-degree murder in the May shooting of 55-year-old Sonya Smith at her home near Smithsburg. He faces a possible life sentence. No sentencing date was set.

State police say Smith lived with an acquaintance of Minnick. Investigators say she recognized Minnick in store surveillance images circulated by police after he robbed a gas station and a dollar store.

Investigators say Smith told Minnick she planned to report him, and he shot her during an ensuing argument.

Minnick also pleaded guilty to theft and robbery charges involving money taken from the stores and items taken from Smith's home.