L. Providence man draws prison for role in robbery
NORRISTOWN » A Lower Providence man is on his way to state prison for his role in the robbery of another man at a trailer park in Trooper.
Steven Robert Imes, 21, of the first block of Mark Lane in the Sunnyside Mobile Home Park, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 18-to-48-months in a state correctional facility after he pleaded guilty to a felony charge of robbery in connection with the August 2016 incident. Judge Gail A. Weilheimer said Imes is eligible for the state Department of Corrections’ Quehanna Boot Camp located in Clearfield County at which inmates undergo a rigid, military-style disciplinary and training program.
The judge also ordered Imes to complete two years’ probation following parole, meaning Imes will be under court supervision for about six years.
However, the judge said she will consider terminating Imes’ supervision after four years if he fully complies with all the terms and regulations of his supervision.
Imes was one of five people charged with robbery and making false statements stemming from an Aug. 30, 2016, incident in which police alleged the five attempted to rob a man, but then lied and told police that the victim was a guntoting home-invader.
The investigation began about 1 a.m. when police responded to a residence on Sherry Lane in the Sunnyside Mobile Home Park for a report of shots fired. Upon arrival, officers found signs of forced entry through a rear door.
The homeowner told police she was sleeping when she heard the door being forced open, and confronted a male burglar who absconded with several items, according to the criminal complaint filed by Lower Providence Detective Charles DeFrangesco.
The other occupants at the residence at the time, including Imes, said the assailant had been a guest there shortly before the incident, but was asked to leave. They reported that the assailant returned, brandishing a pistol and threatened to harm them before leaving, according to the criminal complaint.
But when police interviewed the man being accused as the assailant, he said one of the occupants of the residence had lured him to the residence, where he was robbed at knife-point and was cut on his finger as he tried to defend himself, according to the criminal complaint.
The victim told police that Imes held one of the knives and told him, “Give me what you got” and “I’m not afraid to catch a body,” according to the criminal complaint. The victim said he gave up his wallet and other items. The victim said
he then knocked the knife out of Imes’ hand and “in doing so he cut his own index finger,” before fleeing from the home, detectives alleged.
The victim said he later returned to the residence to retrieve the belongings taken from him and entered the home by breaking a door window pane, according to court papers.
Investigators re-interviewed the five occupants of the residence, including Imes, who then recanted their earlier stories and admitted they collectively lured the victim to the residence with the intention of robbing him of drugs and money. They also admitted to lying about the victim having a gun, according to court papers.