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WILKES-BARRE — A man who led police on a chase through multiple municipalities in Luzerne County was sentenced Thursday to 12 to 24 years in state prison, according to court records.
Luzerne County Judge David Lupas accepted the guilty plea of Joseph Lombardo, of West Pittston. Lombardo faced 11 sets of charges for robbery spree that ended in January.
Lombardo was arrested after he fled from Wilkes-Barre city police who were converging on a house on South Franklin Street.
According to an affidavit, when Lombardo was confronted by police inside a parked gold SUV outside his Exeter Avenue residence, he uttered an expletive at the officers before fleeing the scene in the vehicle.
Lombardo was arraigned in several robberies throughout the area, including:
• An armed robbery at Hanover Beverage on Jan. 25. Police said Lombardo then fled the store with $298 in cash.
• A robbery at the Uni-Mart in Hilldale.
• A robbery at Golden Star Chinese Restaurant, 1000 block of Main Street, Pittston, on Jan. 21.
• A robbery at Tobacco Road, 120 Laurel Plaza, Pittston, on Jan. 22.
• A robbery at Curry Donuts, 561 N. Main St., Pittston, on Jan. 23.
When Magisterial District Judge Alexandra Kokura-Kravitz asked Lombardo during his arraignment how he supported himself, Lombardo offered the court only one word: “Rob.”
Following his arrest, Lombardo admitted to stealing a 1990 Ford F350 truck and using it during the robbery of Uni-Mart.
The vehicle later became disabled when he drove it to Wilkes-Barre.
He was immediately sentenced in front of Lupas.