Struthers man pleads guilty in Brookfield home-invasion robbery, assault

Staff report

WARREN

Lamar Q. Holmes Jr., 20, of Ninth Street in Struthers, one of three people charged in an Oct. 10, 2015, home- invasion robbery with a knife on Syme Street in Brookfield, pleaded guilty Thursday to charges that could result in a prison sentence of more than 40 years.

The victim, 18, who lives at the Syme address, suffered a cut that required stitches and other injuries in the fight that resulted when he found Holmes and another man in his house, police said.

Holmes pleaded guilty in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court to aggravated burglary, aggravated robbery, felonious assault, kidnapping and grand theft. He will be sentenced after the Trumbull County Adult Probation Department conducts a pre-sentence investigation.

Police said Holmes, Sade N. Tibbs, 19, of Iowa Street Northwest in Warren, and Pabalo Valentin Jr. of Redford, Mich., went to Holmes’ house at 2:28 p.m. Oct. 10, with Tibbs apparently trying to preoccupy the victim in his bedroom so Holmes and Valentin could break in.

Tibbs and the victim communicated on Facebook before the incident, and the victim allowed her in when she arrived.

Holmes and Valentin broke in and attacked the victim, police said. Tibbs and Valentin are awaiting trial on similar charges.

The victim said video games, a gun and a cellphone were stolen in the incident. The games and gun were recovered from the car Holmes, Valentin and Tibbs were arrested in a short time after the robbery.

Holmes also received a nine-month prison sentence in Mahoning County in November after pleading guilty there to robbery.