Gaffney man gets 25 years for cookout robbery

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (AP) — A Gaffney man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison after he admitted he robbed a group of friends at a cookout in Greer.

Prosecutor Barry Barnette said 27-year-old Eddie James Pilcher, Jr. was sentenced Tuesday after pleading guilty to armed robbery and attempted first-degree burglary.

Prosecutors say Pilcher and two other men wore masks and carried guns when they approached a group of friends in a front yard last September. They took three wallets, two cell phones and two sets of keys.

A tip led investigators to Pilcher and two other men a day after the robbery. Authorities also linked the men to a failed home invasion that happened a few weeks later.