Mt. Pleasant Towship man sentenced to house arrest for 2020 armed robbery

A Mt. Pleasant Township man was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years of probation and 20 months under house arrest in connection with a 2020 armed robbery.

Jake Daniel Franklin, 20, was ordered to get drug and alcohol and mental health evaluations. Judge Scott Mears noted in a court order that the sentence was below the mitigated range because of Franklin’s age at the time of the offense and his background.

He and Elijah Ben Chaabane of North Huntingdon were both 17 at the time of their arrests in connection with the Dec. 19, 2020 incident outside Franklin’s home. Police said a man hired as a driver from North Huntingdon to Mt. Pleasant by Chaabane was robbed and threatened at gunpoint by Chaabane, Franklin and another juvenile. The three demanded money and clothing from the driver and others who were in the vehicle before fleeing into the house, according to court papers.

Police used a public address system in the middle of the night to get them outside.

Chaabane and Franklin pleaded guilty in March to charges of robbery, conspiracy and possession of a weapon with an altered serial number. Multiple counts of robbery along with single charges of theft, simple assault and other related offenses were dismissed as part of the plea deals.

Chaabane was set to be sentenced Tuesday, too, but it was rescheduled until July 31, according to court records.