A North Huntingdon man was ordered Monday to serve seven years on probation for his role in an armed robbery nearly three years ago in Mt. Pleasant Township.
Elijah Ben Chaabane, 20, pleaded guilty earlier this year to robbery, conspiracy and weapons offense related to a Dec. 19, 2020 incident in which police said he and two other teenagers threatened a driver at gunpoint after they were taken to a home in Mt. Pleasant.
The teens demanded money and clothing from the driver and others who were in the vehicle before fleeing into a house following their trip from North Huntingdon, according to court records.
Chaabane was two weeks shy of his 18th birthday when he was charged. Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Scott Mears previously rejected Chaabane’s request to have his case prosecuted in juvenile court, a ruling that would have limited his sentence and court supervision to his 21st birthday.
Mears imposed a minimum sentence that required Chaabane serve just less than a year in jail but paroled him Monday after applying credit for the 21 months he spent behind bars following his arrest. In addition to the probation, the judge also required Chaabane to perform 50 hours of community service.
Defense attorney Nina Martinelli argued for a probationary sentence, saying Chaabane has undergone treatment and has nearly completed education requirements to get his high school equivalency.
The judge agreed and said he opted against ordering Chaabane serve additional jail time because of his age and his apparent progress in reforming his life.
“I think this is the right thing to do,” Mears said of the probation sentence. “It is my favorite thing to see when people turn their lives around. You are on the way to doing that and I hope you do,” Mears said.
Chaabane’s co-defendant, Jake Franklin, 20, of Mt. Pleasant Township, was sentenced earlier this summer to serve 10 years on probation, including 20 months of house arrest.
