Teens charged with robbery hope for juvenile transfer
Two teen-agers charged with attacking and robbing an Ohio couple this summer hope to have the charges against them transferred to the juvenile court system. Travis Branch, 15, and Joe Earl Hines, 17, are charged as adults with robbery, aggravated and simple assault, reckless endangerment, theft and conspiracy.
Attorney Diane H. Zerega indicated Monday in Fayette County Court that both were seeking juvenile court transfers. To hear the case in juvenile court, a judge must believe that the two are amenable to treatment in the juvenile system.
State police charge that Branch and Hines, along with three others, surrounded a car driven by Christopher Volpe. Police said Volpe got lost on July 28 and ended up in the Snyder Terrace section of the Bierer Wood Acres housing project around 3:30 a.m.
Branch, Hines, Antonio Lanko, 16, Virdell Banks, 18, and Isiah Colbert, 19, allegedly surrounded Volpe’s car, opened the doors to the vehicle and then robbed him of his wallet, which contained money and his credit cards. Volpe and passenger Lisa Auerbach, had been driving behind Colbert, according to police.
While the doors were held open, Brach allegedly punched Volpe in the head, said police. Police alleged that Hines pointed a small black automatic pistol at the couple and ordered Banks to keep the two in the car.
In exchange for withdrawal of the most serious charges, Banks and Colbert have agreed to cooperate with prosecutors and could provide testimony against Branch, Hines and Lanko.
District Attorney Nancy D. Vernon offered Branch 11 1/2 to 23 months in the county prison and Hines one to two years in a state correctional institution.
Their pretrial offers will remain dormant until a judge hears and decides if the two should be prosecuted as juveniles. If a judge decides the two can be, they can be held in custody up to their 21st birthdays.