A Mechanicsburg man charged in the Dec. 28 robbery of a Port Royal convenience store entered into a plea agreement in the Juniata County Court of Common Pleas on Monday.
Originally scheduled for jury selection in the case, Matthew T. Herbster, 27, appeared before Judge Kathy A. Morrow to plead guilty to one count of robbery.
According to court documents, Herbster is charged with entering the Port Royal Uni-Mart on Dec. 28 and using a black gun with a red tip to commit the robbery, after which he made off with an undetermined amount of cash.
“We feel the plea is a win-win situation for everybody involved,” said Herbster’s defense attorney, Adam Bompadre, of Harrisburg.
“He’s looking at a five- to 10-year sentence, with 60 months being the top of the standard range for a crime with a gun. That’s what the prosecution was pushing for,” Bompadre said.
“He’s very remorseful,” Bompadre said of his client. “As he said in court today, he realizes he made a mistake.”
A representative from District Attorney Ken Mummah’s office said Morrow accepted Herbster’s plea and ordered sentencing to occur within 90 days. Additional charges for theft and other offenses stemming from the robbery were withdrawn as part of the plea agreement, the representative said.
Pending his sentence, Herbster remains in a state correctional facility on a probation violation.
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