Oct 5, 2012 2 min read

A second teen received prison time for his role in a May home invasion in which two Canonsburg men were held at gunpoint. Brandon Michael Trent, 19, of 305 Patsch St., Houston, was sentenced to 25 to 50 months in prison followed by 5 years of probation after pleading guilty Sept. 25 to charges of robbery and criminal trespass before Washington County Judge Janet Moschetta Bell. A codefendant, Jovontai Jiviah Graham, 19, of Chartiers Township, received an identical sentence after pleading guilty to the same charges before Moschetta Bell in late August. An alleged accomplice, Brennan Mitchell Cole, 18, of Houston, still faces similar charges. According to court testimony, one of the victims, Matthew Andrews of 603 S. Central Ave., Canonsburg, awoke shortly after 3 a.m. May 10, heard footsteps and saw a person enter his room with a gun. Three intruders with bandanas over their faces ordered Andrews and his roommate, William Hughes, into their living room and told the men to get on their knees. Both victims testified at a preliminary hearing before District Judge Curtis Thompson May 16 one of the suspects had a handgun and another went outside to retrieve what appeared to be a shotgun, which later was determined to be a BB gun. While the incident was ongoing, Canonsburg police responded to the building for a noise complaint made by another tenant. Canonsburg police Officer Matthew Tharp testified he looked inside the street-level apartment using a flashlight and saw two white men kneeling on the floor surrounded by three black men, one of whom was holding a long gun. After seeing the light, the three intruders moved to the kitchen in the back of the apartment while the victims fled. Tharp and a North Strabane Township police officer covered the front and rear of the apartment while waiting for backup to arrive. Canonsburg police Chief R.T. Bell succeeded at getting Trent and Graham to leave the apartment without incident. However, Cole did not surrender until the Washington Regional SWAT team surrounded the building. Police found a bookbag at the scene containing a laptop and a global-positioning system belonging to the victims. Cole was released on $250,000 bond in June. He is scheduled to appear before Moschetta Bell at 9:30 a.m. Oct. 30.