The second man convicted of stealing dozens of firearms from a New Kensington gun store in a smash-and-grab robbery last year will serve 2½ years in federal prison.
Steyn Sarduy, 19, was sentenced on Monday by U.S. District Judge Nora Barry Fischer as part of a plea agreement in the case.
His co-defendant, Michael Guin, was sentenced to 20 months in prison last month.
Both men must also pay a total of $1,500 in restitution, of which $1,000 will go to the gun store and $500 to a glass company.
According to federal investigators, Sarduy, of New Kensington, and Guin, 27, of Lower Burrell, used a stolen pickup as a battering ram to break into RC Firearms on Freeport Street around 3:30 a.m. on Jan. 22, 2024.
Once inside the gun shop, Sarduy used a hammer to smash the display cases, with Guin following behind and removing the guns, which included 17 9 mm handguns, three .380-caliber handguns and two 12-gauge shotguns.
After about a minute inside, prosecutors said, they got away with 24 guns. Only three were recovered.
The men were arrested within two days.
Sarduy told police that Guin solicited him to participate in the crime through an Instagram message.
According to Sarduy’s sentencing brief, Guin is his sister’s longtime boyfriend.
The advisory sentencing guidelines in Sarduy’s case called for 27 to 33 months in prison.
Fischer said the guidelines were based in part on a juvenile criminal history.
“In my estimation, there’s an escalation of the activities you’ve engaged in, which is a little troubling to the court,” she said.
She noted, though, that Sarduy has worked since he was 15 years old, had a job as a kitchen worker while he was held in the Butler County Prison on the gun store charges, and he has asked to have access to welding or culinary training as he serves his federal sentence.
Sarduy’s defense attorney wrote in his sentencing brief that he had a difficult childhood, living in poverty with both parents addicted to drugs. His father was not around, the judge said.
“You have faced some significant difficulties in your life,” Fischer said.