A Lower Pottsgrove teenager potentially faces decades in prison after he admitted to taking part in three armed robberies of pizza delivery drivers in the township.
Khilil J. Montague, 18, of the Rolling Hills Apartments in the 2100 block of Buchert Road, showed no emotion Thursday, Feb. 27, as he pleaded guilty in Montgomery County Court to multiple robbery and conspiracy-related charges in connection with three gunpoint robberies of pizza delivery drivers between March and June 2013 in the Walnut Ridge Estate and Rolling Hills developments. At the time of the holdups, Montague, or others who accompanied him, had BB guns.
Assistant District Attorney Stewart Ryan said that even though the weapon was a BB gun, the victims believed it was real and were terrorized by it.
‘They all expressed great fear during the course of these robberies and so it’s important for individuals that think this sort of behavior is acceptable to face serious consequences,’ said Ryan, who vowed to seek ‘a substantial state prison sentence’ against Montague.
Judge Wendy Demchick-Alloy deferred sentencing so that court officials can complete a background investigative report about Montague and she also ordered that he undergo psychological, and drug and alcohol evaluations.
‘I’m going to order evaluations so I’m completely up-to-date on what’s going on in your head and with your life,’ Demchick-Alloy addressed Montague, who was supported in court by several relatives.
Montague, who remains in jail without bail pending sentencing, faces a possible maximum sentence of 80 to 160 years in prison on the charges.
Montague was 17 at the time of the holdups, but Lower Pottsgrove police charged Montague as an adult, given the serious nature of the gunpoint robberies. Last month, Demchick-Alloy, calling the crimes ‘extremely sophisticated and very adult-like,’ denied Montague’s request to move his case to juvenile court, where penalties are less severe.
Montague, through his lawyer Kevin Mark Wray, had argued Montague was amenable to treatment in the juvenile justice system and that transferring the case to juvenile court would best serve ‘the public interest.’
However, Ryan successfully argued Montague was a dangerous, high risk individual whose gunpoint crimes warranted his being charged as an adult.
According to a criminal complaint filed by Lower Pottsgrove Detective Joseph Campbell, the armed robberies occurred on March 19, April 5 and June 18.
Montague allegedly used his cell phone to place fake pizza orders and then waited for the delivery drivers to arrive at the addresses he provided. The pizza delivery drivers reported their cash and cell phones were stolen during the holdups and that a gunman placed a gun to their throats or heads.
‘Montague admitted that the gun he used was a silver and black BB gun, which looks like an automatic,’ Campbell alleged in the arrest affidavit. ‘Montague used the gun in all the robberies. Montague admits to pointing the gun he used in the robberies at the victims.’
Two other adults, a man and a woman, also were charged as conspirators in connection with the holdups and are awaiting court action, court records indicate.
Authorities developed Montague as a suspect in the pizza driver holdups after a separate June 6 incident during which Montague was accused, along with two others, of robbing four people at gunpoint in a car in the Rolling Hills development, according to court papers. Montague also pleaded guilty to a robbery- and conspiracy-related charge in connection with the June 6 incident.
A second juvenile and another adult male also were charged in connection with the June 6 incident and are awaiting court action, court records indicate.
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