Stoneham Man, Two Others Plead Guilty to Reading Commons Home Invasion

Three men, including a Stoneham man, pleeaded guilty to home invasion and robbery charges in connection with a 2011 home invasion in Reading, Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone announced Thursday evening in a press statement.

Jason Molle, 21, of Stoneham, Garrett Collins, 22, and Matthew Stratton, 20, both of Reading, pleaded guilty Thursday to charges of home invasion, armed robbery, conspiracy, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (two counts), and assault and battery, the press statement reads.

Middlesex Superior Court Judge Garry Inge sentenced the defendants to 2 1/2 years in the House of Corrections, suspended for 30 months on one count of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and an additional 2 1/2 years in the House of Corrections on and after, suspended for 30 months on the assault and battery count, according to the statement.

The defendants were sentenced to five years probation to run concurrent with the suspended jail sentence with the conditions that the defendants are ordered to stay away and have no contact with the victim or his family, remain drug free and subject to random drug screens, maintain employment or school, complete 125 hours of community service which must be completed in an education setting or teaching young people about the dangers of drug use, , undergo any mental health or drug treatment as deemed appropriate by a mental health professional or drug evaluation and sign any waivers or releases required by probation in order to enforce conditions, according to the statement.

 “These defendants have now admitted to attacking and threatening the victim with a firearm inside the victim’s home before robbing him of a significant amount of money and fleeing the scene. These serious, violent actions remain extremely troubling to law enforcement and the Reading community and, due to their severity, we are disappointed that the Court did not see fit to incarcerate the defendants,” Leone said in the statement. “I commend the work of the Reading Police Department whose investigation lead to the swift arrest and identification of the defendants and who continue to work tirelessly to keep their community safe.”

, Reading Police responded to an apartment on Archstone Circle for reports of a home invasion. Upon arrival, police located the victim, a 19-year-old male with an obvious facial injury, according to police. The victim told officers that Molle and a second man, , entered his home, brandished a firearm before proceeding to assault the victim and stole an undetermined amount of money before fleeing the scene in a vehicle. The victim was able to provide a description of the vehicle to police, the statement reads.

Moments after receiving the description, police located and arrested Molle, who was the driver and sole occupant in the vehicle, in the area of Summer Avenue and King Street in Reading, according to the statement.

Police determined that Collins and Stratton were at the victim’s apartment and left just minutes before Molle and Junta entered the home, the statement reads.  According to police, Collins and Stratton sent text messages to Junta informing him on how he could gain access to the victim’s apartment and gave him instructions to search the victim’s pockets and bag for money, added the statement.

Molle was arraigned on Feb. 8, 2011 in Woburn District Court where Judge Timothy Gailey ordered him held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing.  On February 11, 2011, Judge Gailey ordered the defendant held on $5,000 cash bail with the conditions that if he post bail he must remain on a GPS bracelet with exclusion zones, refrain from the use of drugs, submit to random drug screens, check in with probation and must stay away and not contact the witnesses in this case, according to the statement.

The defendants were on March 10, 2011. They were arraigned in Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn on May 17, 2011 where Middlesex Superior Court Clerk Magistrate Michael Sullivan ordered Molle held on $5,000 cash bail with the conditions that if he post bail he was ordered to remain on a GPS bracelet, stay away from all victims and witnesses in the case, must not commit any new crimes, refrain from the use of drugs and alcohol, maintain employment and maintain school, the statement reads.

Collins was ordered held on $5,000 cash bail with the same conditions, excluding a GPS bracelet, as well as the additional condition that he must remain in a treatment program, the statement reads. Stratton was ordered held on $1,000 cash bail with the same conditions excluding a GPS bracelet.