Accomplice in robbery gets four years

STAFF REPORT

YOUNGSTOWN — An accomplice in a Sept. 14 robbery in which a gunman took from the victim a wallet and the No. 25 Reggie Bush NFL jersey he was wearing has been sentenced to four years in prison.

James G. Blackmon Jr., 51, of East Florida Avenue, who pleaded guilty Monday, drew the minimum sentence Wednesday from Judge Maureen A. Sweeney of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.

The sentence consists of three years for the aggravated-robbery charge, plus one consecutive year for the firearm specification.

Blackmon’s lawyer, Thomas E. Zena, told the judge that Blackmon wasn’t the gunman, the victim wasn’t injured and the victim’s property was recovered.

The victim was walking on West Rayen Avenue near Fifth Avenue when two men emerged from a vehicle — one of them drawing a gun and demanding the jersey and wallet. The victim complied, the robbers left, and the victim called police.

Based on a description of the vehicle, police found and pursued it. The occupants abandoned it, and police arrested Blackmon, but they couldn’t find the other robber, who the prosecution said was the gunman.