Man Gets 15 Years for Apartment Robbery

A city man who authorities said pointed a gun at a woman during a 2010 robbery has been sentenced to 15 years in prison, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office announced today.

Elijah Sumler, 31, of Newark, must serve at least 85 percent of his sentence under the No Early Release Act. He was convicted of second degree conspiracy to commit robbery and a weapons offense by Judge Peter Ryan today in Newark.

Prosecutors sought an especially stiff sentence against Sumler, who has four prior felony convictions and 16 arrests for crimes which authorities said were getting progressively more serious. Ordinarily, second degree offenses carry a 5- to 10- year sentence.

“Second degree terms require a sentence of 5 to 10 years,” Assistant Prosecutor Justin Edwab, who tried the case, said in a statement. “However, considering the defendant’s history—including four prior convictions and the violent nature of pointing a gun at the victim—the court felt this defendant met the requirement for an extended term, which is between 10 to 20 years.”

On August 25, 2010, Sumler, armed with a gun, and two other males, broke into the second floor apartment of 700 block of South 19th Street. Inside the apartment were a 31-year-old female and her 2-year-old daughter. The men ransacked the apartment, robbing the woman of her flat screen television, computer, an electronic gaming system, cell phone, money and clothing.  Sumler, whom the victim identified, was found guilty of second degree conspiracy to commit robbery and fourth degree aggravated assault by pointing a firearm at the victim on March 14.