5 day forecast
East Hills man involved in robbery sentenced to 50 years for firing at officer
Share with others:
An East Hills man who robbed a Homestead hotel in 2009, making off with $221, was sentenced Friday to 50 years in prison largely because he fired at a pursuing police officer.
Jay Gregory Mathis, 46, was convicted by a U.S. District Court jury in June of seven robbery and gun charges. Judge Gary L. Lancaster imposed the sentence, which was driven largely by the charges of using a firearm in a crime of violence and possessing a firearm despite being a felon.
"Mathis was suspected of carrying out a six-month crime spree that began with the robbery on Jan. 8, 2009, of the National City Bank on Walnut Street in the Shadyside area of Pittsburgh, and ended with the robbery of the Courtyard Marriot at the Waterfront in Homestead," according to a press release by the office of U.S. Attorney David J. Hickton.
While driving from Homestead into Pittsburgh, he fired on pursuing Homestead police Officer Brian Meals, shattering his windshield.
First Published March 2, 2013 5:51 pm
