Man arrested at North Huntingdon motel gets prison sentence

A man convicted of illegally having a gun and drugs when he was found at a North Huntingdon motel with a runaway teenage girl was sentenced Tuesday to four to 10 years in a state prison.

Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio ordered Robert Easley, 42, no hometown available, spend an additional year on supervised release.

Easley was convicted in January of a felony firearms offense, receiving stolen property and drug and paraphernalia possession. During the trial, he claimed that police planted a handgun and marijuana when they barged into his room at the Hiland Terrace Motel on June 15, 2022.

He testified then that he offered the teenage girl, who he believed was an adult, shelter after they met in a McKeesport convenience store where he was working.

“I put myself in this situation and I have to face the consequences and just learn from this life experience to do better in the future,” Easley said during Tuesday’s hearing.

He was not charged in connection with the runaway girl.

Police acting on a tip from Beaver County law enforcement regarding the runaway’s whereabouts searched Easley’s motel room where they reported finding the drugs and gun, according to trial testimony. He is not permitted to have a gun in Pennsylvania because of prior felony convictions in Michigan.

Assistant District Attorney Steven Reddy recommended Easley be sentenced to five to 10 years in a state prison.

“The circumstances of this case … I would describe them as disturbing,” he said.

Defense attorney Michael DeMatt argued Easley’s criminal history is years old and said the runaway being found in the motel room should not be relevant in sentencing.

“Over the past nine years, there’s no indication he’s been engaged in anything that we should be concerned with,” DeMatt said.

Easley was credited with 657 days in jail since his arrest.