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Man gets 2 years for robbery
YOUNGSTOWN
A Youngstown man who tried to rob a North Side couple in 2010 has been sentenced to two years in prison, but will be released in about five months because he already has served more than 500 days in jail.
Andre Swanson, 34, of Montclair Avenue, was arrested and charged with attempted aggravated burglary, felonious assault, obstructing official business, being a convicted felon in illegal possession of a weapon and possession of criminal tools in 2010. Earlier this year in a plea agreement with prosecutors, he pleaded guilty to one count of attempted aggravated burglary and one count of illegal possession of a weapon.
Swanson appeared Monday for sentencing before Judge Maureen Sweeney of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.
The charges stem from a 2010 incident in which Swanson attempted to rob a couple, then shot at the male victim.
The 25-year-old Woodbine Avenue man told police he and his 32-year- old girlfriend heard loud banging at their North Side door at 4:15 p.m. He looked out and saw a man wearing a mask up to his eyes. He saw a screwdriver in the man’s hand and believed the man was there to rob them.
The Woodbine man went outside to confront the masked man, later determined to be Swanson, and chased him on Florencedale Avenue carrying a knife. His girlfriend called police.
The Woodbine man told police Swanson pulled a handgun from his pocket and shot at him four times during the chase but did not hit him.
Police found Swanson hiding under the porch of a vacant house on Bryson Street. He resisted arrest but was subdued, a report said.
Swanson said little before Judge Sweeney handed down his sentence. He only asked the judge to give a minimal sentence or possibly probation.
Attorney Douglas King, representing Swanson, asked the court for a probation sentence, in part because his client takes care of several family members including his mother and grandchildren.
Judge Sweeney sentenced Swanson to two years in prison. He already has served more than 500 days in jail awaiting trial. Swanson also will have to serve a three-year term of probation when released from prison.
The recent conviction is not Swanson’s first felony brush with the law.
Court files show Swanson was convicted of multiple aggravated robberies along with resisting arrest and carrying a concealed weapon in 2000. He was sentenced to seven years in prison for those crimes plus an additional three years for using a gun to commit the crimes. He was released in 2010.