Man sentenced to prison for attempted car theft in Wawa

A Telford man who attempted to steal a car while the owner was pumping up the tires has now been sentenced to state prison for the robbery.

Robert Michael McBrien, 35, of the 300 block of East Reliance Road, was sentenced Aug. 15 by Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Risa Vetri Ferman to four to eight years in prison, court records show, after pleading guilty to aggravated robbery of a motor vehicle in September 2023.

According to the documents, McBrien will receive 342 days of credit for time already served.

Other charges of violent robbery, theft, simple assault, reckless endangerment and harassment were dropped.

According to Ferman's ruling, McBrien must undergo a psychiatric evaluation and participate in and complete an anger management therapy program.

According to The Mercury, on September 8, 2023, at 9:04 p.m., East Norriton Township police responded to a call to Wawa in the 700 block of West Germantown Pike for a report of a man attempting to steal a woman's car and attacking her and her son, police said.

According to police, the woman parked her 2017 Mercedes-Benz near an air pump at Wawa and began pumping up the tires when McBrien approached her.

He ran to the driver's side, got in and closed the door, police said. The victim's 9-year-old son was in the passenger seat, police said.

The woman opened the driver's door, tried to pull McBrien out of the car and screamed for help, police said.

McBrien fled the car when a passerby stopped to help him and was later found near Whitehall Road and Woodland Avenue, police said.

According to the report, McBrien was caught on surveillance camera video during the attempted car theft.