LEWISTON — A former Minot man who, along with four others, robbed a Poland man at his home in October was sentenced Wednesday to nearly two years in prison for his part in the incident.

Isaiah Strong-Gassama, 20, whose latest address is in South Paris, had been given a deferred sentence in May after he pleaded to felony aggravated criminal trespass, a charge punishable by up to five years in prison, and receiving stolen property, a misdemeanor that carries a maximum sentence of up to six months in jail.

Had he not violated the terms of that agreement for two years and steered clear of any crimes, he would have been allowed to withdraw his felony plea and plead instead to a misdemeanor trespass charge.

But about a day after that plea agreement was approved by the judge, Strong-Gassama led police on a high-speed chase though several towns, resulting in multiple criminal charges against him.

On the charge of felony aggravated trespass, he was sentenced Wednesday to five years in prison, with all but 22 months of that sentence suspended. He will serve a six-month sentence on the misdemeanor charge at the same time.

When he is released from prison, he will be on probation for two years, according to court documents. During that time, he will be barred from having any dangerous weapons, including guns, and can be searched for them if police have reason to believe he possesses them. He will also not be allowed contact with his four co-defendants or the victim.

Strong-Gassama will receive credit for seven months he served in jail while awaiting his sentence. A robbery charge was dismissed by prosecutors.

Had Strong-Gassama’s robbery case gone to trial, an Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office detective would have testified his office investigated a reported robbery at the Empire Road, Poland home of then-19-year-old Devon Bailey, who called 911 on Oct. 26, according to a prosecutor.

Four men and a woman had come to his home in a car and accused him of slashing tires on vehicles in the Poland and Minot area, Bailey told deputies.

After entering the home, three of the men were standing in the kitchen when one of them brandished a silver, .357-caliber revolver from his waistband and pointed it at the teen, one of the men told the detective. Strong-Gassama had stood behind the victim.

The man with the gun told the teen, “You’d better not be lying or this could get messy.”

Strong-Gassama took the phone of the victim, who tried to show on his phone that he was telling the truth. The teen denied slashing tires.

Strong-Gassama and two co-defendants went into the basement in search of marijuana. One of them took a jar of marijuana and pipes before leaving the home.

One of the men also took a Sony PlayStation 3, according to a witness. The teen’s iPhone also was taken by someone in the group.

All items except the cellphone were later recovered.

cwilliams@sunjournal.com

Isaiah Strong-Gassama (Sun Journal file photo)