A New Kensington man who held up an AT&T store at gunpoint, forcing employees to zip-tie themselves and wait before calling police, has pleaded guilty and will spend years behind bars. Trey Bell, 32, admitted to all charges stemming from the May 2024 armed robbery of the AT&T location on Tarentum Bridge Road, according to the Westmoreland County District Attorney's Office.
Common Pleas Judge Christopher Feliciani sentenced Bell to four to 12 years in state prison followed by five years of supervised release, per the Westmoreland County District Attorney's Office. A separate account of the case, reported by Shore News Network, describes that same post-prison stretch as five years of probation rather than supervised release — the two outlets differ on the precise term even as they agree on the four-to-12-year prison sentence. Assistant District Attorney Olivia Muha prosecuted the case on behalf of the Commonwealth, the office said.
How the Robbery Unfolded on Tarentum Bridge Road
Bell walked into the AT&T store armed with a firearm in 2024 and forced employees to restrain themselves with zip ties, according to the district attorney's office. He made off with multiple cell phones and smart watches, with the store reporting a total loss of approximately $47,000 in electronics, the same account states. Per TribLive, the robbery happened on May 17, 2024, and the gunman told employees to wait 20 minutes after he left before calling police.
License Plates, a Recovered Car and DNA Sealed the Case
Detectives identified the vehicle Bell was driving through license plate readers in order to obtain a registration, according to the district attorney's office. Investigators determined the vehicle was leased to a home health care agency in Penn Hills — in Allegheny County, east of Pittsburgh — and the car was recovered within days of the robbery, the office said. DNA samples pulled from inside the vehicle were then sent for forensic testing, the same source notes.
Through that DNA testing and information shared by surrounding police agencies, Bell was identified as a suspect in other armed robberies of phone stores across western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio, the district attorney's office said. Those other investigations have not been shown to have produced convictions. Separately, The Morning Journal reported that Bell and Kenneth Littlejohn of Ambridge were arrested within hours at a North Lima motel after an alleged armed robbery at an AT&T store in Columbiana, with authorities saying the suspects' electronic devices had been traced there; that report said more than 20 electronic devices were allegedly stolen in that incident.
More Charges Tied to a Crafton Robbery
A notice from the Westmoreland County District Attorney's Office said Bell is also facing charges connected to a December 2024 armed robbery of a T-Mobile store in Crafton, in Allegheny County. The office's notice cautions that pending charges remain accusations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole W. Ziccarelli's office reported Bell's guilty plea and sentence, closing out the Tarentum Bridge Road case even as the broader scope of his alleged activity — spanning multiple states and store brands — remains tied to separate, unresolved proceedings.
