Limerick man jailed for being getaway driver in armed robbery

Amanwith ties to Limerick and Perkiomen faces some time behind bars after he admitted to being the getaway driver during the armed robbery of another man in Schwenksville and to trespassing at a Skippack property with several friends.

Joseph Conrad Taxis IV, 18, who listed addresses in the 200 block of Royersford Road, Limerick, and in the 600 block of Longwood Road, Perkiomen, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court on Wednesday to 11½ to 23 months in the county jail, to be followed by six years of probation, after he pleaded guilty to a felony charge of conspiracy to engage in robbery and misdemeanor charges of criminal trespass and criminal mischief in connection with two incidents that occurred between September and November 2015.

The sentence was imposed by Judge Steven T. O’Neill who also ordered Taxis to complete 48 hours of community service and to have no contact with his alleged co-conspirators in the crimes.

With the robbery conspiracy charge, prosecutors alleged Taxis was the getaway driver for two oth- ers who allegedly participated in the armed holdup of a man at a Main Street residence in Schwenksville about 3 p.m. Sept. 6, 2015.

The victim reported to state police at Skippack that Eric Anthony “Boom” Newman pointed a loaded semiautomatic pistol to his head inside his residence while a female, Antoinette Marie Luppino, went upstairs and stole $335 from his bedroom, according to the criminal complaint. Newman and Luppino then fled from the victim’s residence on foot.

“The victim related that he knew the gun was loaded because he heard Newman chamber it,” state police Trooper KevinWard alleged in the arrest affidavit.

Authorities alleged Taxis was waiting across the street in a Volkswagen Beetle for Newman and Luppino and the trio then fled the scene in the vehicle. Authorities also alleged Taxis had given the gun to Newman to use in the robbery.

Luppino allegedly gave a statement to authorities, admitting she was at the scene, and which corroborated the victim’s story and police obtained video surveillance from a nearby business that also corroborated the victim, according to court papers.

Newman, 24, of Game FarmRoad, Schwenksville,