CLEARFIELD –Two people involved in a robbery that was an attempt to recover naked photos were sentenced this week in Clearfield County Court.
Michael Jerome Irby Jr., 27, and Sara Ann Wolfe, 24, both of Altoona, pleaded guilty before President Judge Fredric J. Ammerman.
Irby pleaded guilty Tuesday to robbery and terroristic threats and was sentenced to 16 months to five years in state prison.
Wolfe pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of criminal conspiracy. She was sentenced to 11 months to two years less one day in jail and one year consecutive probation.
The charges stem from an incident in Mahaffey in June of 2016. The victim told police Irby forced his way into his home and threatened him with a gun as he ordered him to turn over all digital copies of Wolfe’s photos.
Before Irby, who is African-American, was sentenced, he claimed the five-month difference between his sentence and Wolfe’s was the result of discrimination.
Ammerman responded that Irby was the one who had the gun in this situation and that race had nothing to do with it. At another point, Ammerman noted that Irby received a state sentence because he had a weapon and threatened to kill the victim. He added that Irby has had 22 violations while he was incarcerated at the county jail.
Prior to Wolfe’s sentencing, her attorney, Beau Grove, noted that Wolfe was ready to testify against Irby if needed. Instead, Irby signed an open plea in his case and his trial was cancelled.
First Assistant Ryan Dobo added that he had no doubt the plea agreement was signed because of her cooperation.
Wolfe was disappointed the victim did not attend her sentencing hearing because she said she wanted to apologize to him.
Earlier this year, Ammerman rejected pleas in both these cases because they had a minimum sentence of only six months.
At that time, the victim addressed the court, stating that Irby put a gun in his face and told him he was going to die in his home. Because of this incident, he said he has barricaded his home and keeps a gun near his bed.
The victim stated he didn’t understand why it “had to come to this.” Wolfe had called him, he explained, asking for the photos while he was in Cleveland and unable to retrieve them. He told her he would give them to her when he returned to his home in a few days.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, the victim explained to police that he has his own magazine and takes photos all over the country. He had a photo shoot with Wolfe, who worked with him doing marketing in May of 2016. Some of her photos have been on the cover of the magazine.
She signed a standard release prior to him taking any pictures, the victim said, and she seemed happy with the results. In a few of the photos, she was nude.
During the five years he knew her, she told him that her boyfriend, Irby, had been very abusive, the victim told investigators. At the photo shoot, she told him she had broken up with Mike and the photos helped her to feel more confident.
According to a witness, Wolfe told her that she drove Irby to the victim’s home. She waited in the car when Irby entered the house with a BB gun.
Among the items taken by Irby was a portable hard drive, a cell phone, a camera and a laptop computer. The victim’s hard drive contained information on the victim’s business and numerous other photos. The victim said it was worth more than $20,000.