Wounded would-be robber gets prison time

June 15, 2006|by DON AINES

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - A Waynesboro, Pa., man who shot himself during an attempted robbery two years ago was sentenced Wednesday in Franklin County Court to 40 months to seven years in state prison.

Stephon Antonio Young, 21, formerly of 281 Park St., pleaded guilty in May to criminal attempt to commit robbery in the March 26, 2004, incident on South Church Street, according to court records.

Waynesboro police records state that Jose Fausto and three friends were approached by two men with handguns. One of the men put a gun to Fausto's neck and began going through his pockets, according to the affidavit of probable cause.

Fausto knocked the man's hand and the gun away from his neck, and the victim and assailant struggled for the weapon, police said. Fausto twisted the man's arm behind him, the gun went off and the assailant dropped the weapon and fled, records state.

A short time later, a woman drove Young to Waynesboro Hospital, where he was treated for a gunshot wound, police said. Young initially told police he was walking through a parking lot when he heard a gunshot and realized he had been hit, police said.

Young later changed his story, telling police that men in a van had driven up to him and shot him during an attempted robbery, according to the affidavit.

The woman who drove him to the hospital, however, told police he had taken off a shirt and thrown it under her vehicle when they arrived at the hospital, the affidavit stated. Police said the shirt matched the description of the one worn by the man who tried to rob Fausto.

Three weeks after the shooting, police received a computer disc from an informant, according to the affidavit. The disc included digital photos of Young wearing the shirt and holding the handgun found at the scene of the attempted robbery, police said.

The handgun had been reported stolen from a vehicle four days before the incident, police said.

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