A 32-year-old Pennsylvania man was sentenced on March 4 to serve life plus 14 years in prison for taking part in four armed robberies of cell phone stores in Edison and South Brunswick.
Michael Mitchell of Bristol, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to the term in New Brunswick by Superior Court Judge Barry Weisberg after the defendant was convicted on Dec. 1 of counts of armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, theft and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, according to a statement prepared by Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey.
Weisberg said Mitchell will serve the prison term consecutively to a 25-year term he already is serving for an armed robbery in Somerset County. Mitchell was credited with serving 869 days in custody since his arrest, Carey said.
Mitchell was sentenced following a trial in which Middlesex County Assistant Prosecutor Joseph Surman presented evidence and testimony showing he was among three individuals who robbed cell phone stores in Edison on Dec. 8, 2011, Jan. 5, 2012 and Jan. 12, 2012 and in South Brunswick on Dec. 19, 2011.
Mitchell was charged following an investigation by Detective Theodore Hamer, Detective Sgt. Frank Todd and Detective Steve Todd, all of the Edison Police Department, and Detective Roger Tuohy of the South Brunswick Police Department.
Mitchell’s stepbrother, Mack Mitchell, 22, of Bristol, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty prior to trial and has been sentenced to serve 26 years in prison, Carey said.
Another co-defendant, Emendo Bowers, 28, of the Somerset section of Franklin Township, also pleaded guilty and has been sentenced to serve 15 years.
Both Mack Mitchell and Bowers must serve 85 percent of their sentences before they can be eligible for parole, according to Carey.