East Hills man gets 25 years for armed robbery spree
An East Hills man who went on a nine-day armed robbery spree in the east suburbs last year has been sentenced to 25 years in prison, federal officials said.
Eric Jones, 34, of Pittsburgh’s East Hills neighborhood was sentenced Wednesday, according to U.S. District Attorney Eric Olshan. He had pleaded guilty in July to committing four armed robberies in the nine-day stretch.
On March 6, 2022, Jones shot Fox’s Pizza owner Greg Scampone six times during a robbery of the Oakmont business. Scampone recovered and returned to work that spring.
Four days later, Jones robbed a Sunoco convenience store on Hulton Road in Penn Hills, brandishing a gun again.
On March 15, 2022, Jones attempted to rob the Family Dollar store on Frankstown Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Homewood section. A half-hour later, he attempted to rob the Edgewood Avenue Express in Edgewood.
A 53-year-old man was grazed in the torso during the Edgewood incident. Authorities said Jones tried to shoot the man a second time, but his gun jammed.
In addition to the robbery charges, Jones is a convicted felon and was not permitted to possess a firearm or ammunition.
Patrick Varine is a TribLive reporter covering Delmont, Export and Murrysville. He is a Western Pennsylvania native and joined the Trib in 2010 after working as a reporter and editor with the former Dover Post Co. in Delaware. He can be reached at pvarine@triblive.com.
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