Teens Held for Trial in Yang's Market Robbery

Two teens accused in the robbery and beating of owner Yong Yang will be held for trial following court proceedings Wednesday morning in Devon.

At a preliminary hearing Wednesday morning, Magisterial District Judge Thomas Tartaglio ordered 18-year-old Octavio Sandoval to stand trial on multiple felony and conspiracy charges stemming from a robbery and attack outside Yangs Market in Berwyn. His accused 17-year-old accomplice waived his right to a preliminary trial.

Tartaglio denied a request by Sandoval's public defender to reduce his bail from the current $100,000 cash bail.

The judge did agree to recommend a 10 percent bail (amounting to $7,500) for the 17-year-old defendant, provided he is also put on home confinement. Until now, the juvenile defendant had been held on $75,000 cash bail, meaning he would have to post the entire amount to get out of jail on bail.

The 17-year-old defendant, who is being charged as an adult, waived his right to a preliminary hearing. The case against him will now go to the Court of Common Pleas in West Chester. A hearing date has not been set, but prosecutors expect it to be within "three to six months."

18-Year-Old's Signed Confession Read in Court

The court did hold a preliminary hearing on the charges against Octavio Sandoval, 18. During the hearing Easttown Police Detective Lt. Scott Albee read a confession written by Sandoval at the time of his arrest. In the confession, as read in court by Albee, Sandoval details how he and the 17-year-old scoped out Yangs Market on the day before the attack. In the confession, Sandoval describes how he and his accomplice waited for Yang's employee to leave the market's parking lot before confronting the 74-year-old shop owner. In the confession, Sandoval admits having a knife, attacking Yang, holding him down with his knee and taking his wallet and $540 in cash from Yang's pants pocket.

Sandoval's confession details how he and his accomplice then ran off in separate directions, meeting along the railroad tracks, and changing into clothes they had hidden before the robbery.

The case against Sandoval now moves toward a trial in West Chester, probably in three to six months. Sandoval is being held in Chester County Prison on $100,000 cash bail.

Click on the pdfs to read the affidavit of probable cause, which details the police investigation and events leading to the arrests.