Pittsburgh man pleads guilty during jury trial
A Pittsburgh man accused of robbing a woman at gunpoint pleaded guilty Friday to the charges against him, bringing a swift end to his two-day jury trial.
Andre L. Cromwell, 43, was accused of robbing a woman at gunpoint May 26 while the two were at a house at 864 Chartiers St. in Washington for a poker game. According to police, Cromwell pulled a gun on Ruth Blackmon after witnessing her make change for another man with a large sum of money. Cromwell waited until the other man left the room before he pulled the gun.
A jury was selected Monday, and the trial began Thursday in front of Washington County Judge John DiSalle. Prior to court starting Friday, Cromwell decided to accept a prior plea agreement offer and pleaded guilty to robbery and recklessly endangering another person. He was sentenced to 5 to 10 years in prison for robbery, one to two years in prison on the endangerment charge and ordered to pay $900 in restitution. The sentences will run concurrently.
During a brief court session, for which the jury was not present, Cromwell apologized to Blackmon and a witness.
“A lot of things led up to that incident, and I need time to get myself together,” he said. “The last time I got my GED. This time I need to get some credentials so I don’t have to be running the streets.”
DiSalle agreed, and encouraged Cromwell to obtain a degree.
“You could do a lot of good,” DiSalle said. “Not only for yourself, but others.”
Cromwell faced a maximum of 20 years in prison for the robbery charge and two years for the reckless endangerment charge.
Cromwell was issued an eight-month credit for jail time already served. He was out on bond during the trial, and DiSalle granted Cromwell’s request that he start serving his sentence later. He was ordered to report Feb. 17.
Cromwell and his attorney, Thomas Agrafiotis, declined to make further comment.