Teenager convicted of robbing delivery driver now faces home invasion charge

Jeffrey Howell, 18, pleaded guilty to one count of armed robbery and one count of conspiracy to commit armed robbery on July 5. Eight days later, he's facing a first-degree home invasion charge for breaking into a residence on April 5, one week before the robbery of a Bell's Pizza delivery driver, according to police.

The break-in occurred in the 2900 block of Sheffield Court in Ann Arbor, police said.

Howell was arraigned on the first-degree home invasion charge Friday afternoon and was lodged at the Washtenaw County Jail, records show. Bond information was not immediately available.

The charge comes just a week after Howell entered his guilty plea to two felonies related to April robberies.

In exchange for his plea in those robberies, a charge each of armed robbery and conspiracy to commit armed robbery was dropped, according to court records.

Howell reached a sentencing agreement with Washtenaw County Trial Court Judge David Swartz to not serve more than four years and three months in prison, according to court records. Swartz will sentence him at 1:30 p.m. Aug. 9.

That will be the same day Anthony Hugan, 18, will be in court for a pretrial hearing. Hugan and Howell allegedly worked together to rob a Bell’s Pizza driver and attempted to rob a driver from Happy Wok in Ann Arbor.

A 38-year-old Ypsilanti man who worked for Bell’s, was robbed of cash and the pizza at 1 a.m. April 12 in the 1000 block of Bluestem Lane. The driver got out of the car with a pizza and was looking for the address when he was flagged down by the two teens, according to police.

As the driver came up to the teens, one of them put a hand into his pocket as if he was going to pull out money, but instead showed the driver a gun, according to police. The other teenager rifled through the man’s pockets and took cash; the two then stole the pizza and fled on foot, according to police.

Five days later, the driver from Happy Wok went at 9:15 p.m. to the 2000 block of Liberty Heights. Soon Gin, the driver, testified he felt the situation was suspicious when he approached the address he had been called to, because the residence appeared to be abandoned and a “For Sale” sign was in the front yard.

One man approached Gin’s car talking on a cellphone and repeatedly brushed Gin off when he was asked if he had ordered the food. A second man appeared to be hiding down some steps in a passageway of the condominiums, he said.

Before anything could happen, Gin said he got in his car and drove away from the area. Prosecutors contend Gin drove away before Howell could rob him.

The maximum penalty for armed robbery is life in prison.