3 men admit to armed robbery
NORRISTOWN >> Three men have admitted to playing roles in the armed robbery of a Pottstown man as he walked from a store in the borough.
Daveese Smith, 21, and Nysir Allen, 23, who lived in the 800 block of Smith Street in Norristown, and Nafis Darnell Allen, 20, of the 800 block of East High Street, Pottstown, each pleaded guilty in Montgomery County Court to felony charges of robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery in connection with the 9:27 a.m. Sept. 29, 2018, incident.
The robbery occurred in a breezeway between two homes in the 500 block of High Street in Pottstown.
Smith, who allegedly brandished a handgun during the robbery, remains free on bail pending his sentencing hearing in May before Judge Thomas C. Branca. Smith, who is represented by defense lawyer Francis Genovese, potentially faces several years in prison on the charges.
“Daveese Smith was the one who actually committed the robbery, the one who had the handgun, chased down the victim and struck him in the head with the handgun,” Assistant District Attorney Evan Correia alleged. “Fortunately, the victim was able to get away.”
The victim dropped a grocery bag, his cellphone and his sweatshirt during the struggle.
“We’ll be seeking a state prison sentence for Mr. Smith,” Correia said.
With the charges, prosecutors alleged Nafis Allen and Nysir Allen helped set the robbery in motion and ran into the breezeway and tried to assist Smith during the robbery.
“This was an ambush. Daveese was lying in wait for the victim in this breezeway. He had
been alerted to the victim’s presence and the fact he would be walking through this breezeway by Nysir Allen and Nafis Allen who had encountered the victim a couple of blocks away several minutes before the robbery occurring,” Correia alleged.
Nysir Allen, who was represented by defense lawyer Scott McIntosh, was sentenced to five years’ probation in connection with his role in the incident.
Nafis Allen, who was represented by defense lawyer Michael Quinn, was sentenced to 2 to 10 years in prison for his role in the incident. Under a plea agreement, that sentence will run concurrently with the 2-to4-year sentence Nafis Allen received last November after he pleaded no contest to a felony charge of robbery in connection with an Oct. 18, 2018, holdup at Barry’s Coins in the first block of North Charlotte Street.
A no contest plea is not an admission of guilt but is an admission that prosecutors have sufficient evidence to prove the charge at trial.
The investigation of the Sept. 29 robbery began when the victim reported to police that he had been pistol-whipped and robbed of his cellphone in the breezeway.
Correia praised Pottstown police for uncovering surveillance camera footage in the neighborhood that helped to identify suspects.
“We were very fortunate. The police did a great investigation on this case. In fact, the entire robbery was on video and police were able to track that video down,” Correia said.
The investigation determined the victim left his residence in the 500 block of High Street about 9:14 a.m. to go to a nearby convenience store and along the way encountered Nafis Allen and Nysir Allen, according to the criminal complaint filed by Pottstown Police Sergeant Edward C. Kropp Jr. At 9:22 a.m. Smith was observed pacing near the breezeway and at 9:27 a.m., he confronted the victim as the victim entered the breezeway, police alleged.
“Smith points a handgun at the victim and tells him ‘Give that (expletive) up.’ Smith then struck the victim in the head with the handgun,” Kropp alleged. “While Smith and the victim are struggling, Nafis Allen and Nysir Allen ran up to assist Smith.”
Nafis Allen picked up the victim’s sweatshirt and grocery bag and Nysir Allen picked up the victim’s cellphone and later gave it to Smith, police alleged.
The victim suffered abrasions to the left side of his face and a laceration to his left ear from being struck with the gun and sought medical attention, police said.