West Pottsgrove man sentenced for role in armed robbery
NORRISTOWN » A West Pottsgrove man who admitted to being an accomplice during the gunpoint robbery of several people inside a township home in order to get marijuana and cash will be under court supervision for about 12 years.
Carlton Lamont Gillis III, 19, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 15 months already served to 23 months in jail, to be followed by 10 years’ probation, on charges of robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery in connection with the 9:30 p.m. Oct. 5, 2016, incident at a home along Dogwood Lane in West Pottsgrove.
The sentence was imposed by Judge Steven T. O’Neill, who accepted a sentencing agreement hashed out between prosecutors and Gillis.
In agreeing to a time served sentence prosecutors cited Gillis’ young age at the time of the incident, his lesser culpability, his prompt and truthful cooperation with investigators and his willingness to testify against the armed robber, Tyrone Jeffcoat-Parker, 21, of the 1200 block of Spring Hill Drive, Pottstown.
The judge also ordered Gillis to undergo a drug and alcohol evaluation and to comply with all recommendations for treatment. Gillis, the judge said, is to be paroled directly to an approved halfway house.
Jeffcoat-Parker previously was convicted by a jury of charges of robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, terroristic threats, theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property. O’Neill previously sentenced Jeffcoat-Parker to seven to 14 years in a state correctional facility.
During Jeffcoat-Parker’s trial, county Assistant District Attorney Richard Bradbury Jr. argued Jeffcoat-Parker “in the name of trying to get some marijuana and some money” forced his way into a residence at gunpoint and stole approximately $1,500 and a quantity of marijuana from the people inside the residence.
Jeffcoat-Parker was armed with a BB gun during the incident but most of the five victims believed it was a real gun, Bradbury alleged. Bradbury said the victims were scared they were going to be shot.
At trial, Jeffcoat-Parker testified and implied that the incident was nothing more than an argument during a drug deal that went bad, that a gun was not involved and that a robbery never occurred.
But Gillis, Jeffcoat-Parker’s accomplice in the robbery, testified for prosecutors that Jeffcoat-Parker helped plan the robbery and was the person who brandished the gun. Gillis, who was 18 at the time of the robbery, implied JeffcoatParker controlled the situation and that when JeffcoatParker asked him for a BB gun he gave it to him.
Gillis testified he didn’t want anybody to get hurt or assaulted and that he only wanted marijuana that he believed the victims had at the residence. Gillis claimed Jeffcoat-Parker gave him six grams of marijuana for his role in the robbery.
An investigation began when West Pottsgrove police were dispatched to the Dogwood Lane residence for a reported home invasion robbery with a firearm. When police arrived, they spoke with a male victim who indicated that he had been at his home with three of his friends at around 9:30 p.m. when they heard a knock at the sliding glass rear door and observed another friend at the door.
The victim told police that when he unlocked the door, his friend was pushed into the home by JeffcoatParker. At the time, Jeffcoat-Parker was holding a black handgun to the back of the victim’s friend and was accompanied by Gillis.
Once inside, JeffcoatParker demanded money and other items from the victim while pointing the gun at him, according to the criminal complaint filed by West Pottsgrove Police Officer Robert Stoudt III.
Jeffcoat-Parker then grabbed the victim’s backpack which contained about $1,500, police said. The victim said he also had two bags of marijuana setting on a table that JeffcoatParker grabbed and placed in the backpack.
Jeffcoat-Parker also took money from one of the other men inside the residence, according to the arrest affidavit.
“During the incident (the victim) said he was afraid for his life and the lives of everyone else in his house, including his mother, father and brother that were in another room at the time,” Stoudt alleged.
Jeffcoat-Parker and Gillis were in the home for approximately 5 minutes before fleeing out a back door. The victim stated they chased the pair but eventually lost sight of them.
When police caught up to Jeffcoat-Parker they found him possessing $1,172 in his sock. The money was folded in half by a blue rubber band, the same manner that the victims described it as being in when it was stolen.