Man Who Assisted Armed Robber in Marietta Sentenced

A Stone Mountain man who helped another man rob a pair of Marietta girls at gunpoint has been sentenced for his role in the crime, the Cobb County DA’s Office announced Friday.

Herbert Maurice Belle, now 35, and a man known only as “Tony” came to an apartment on Spectrum Circle on April 12, 2013, looking to purchase drugs. When the men arrived, they were greeted at the door by a 17-year-old girl who said her father wasn’t at home. Prosecutors say that Belle and ”Tony” then pulled out guns and burst into the apartment, ransacking it while holding the girl and her 8-year-old cousin at gunpoint.

“Regardless of what Mr. Belle thought he was going to that apartment for that day, once there he became an equal participant in terrorizing two innocent young girls,” said ADA Theresa Schiefer, who prosecuted the case.

Belle pleaded guilty to armed robbery and cruelty to children on Wednesday and was sentenced to 20 years, with 15 to serve behind bars, according to the DA’s Office.