Rasheed Bohler, 33, of Newark, pleaded guilty to the robbery after he was sentenced to nine years in state prison in a separate robbery case
NEWARK -- About a month after being sentenced in a separate robbery case, a Newark man pleaded guilty on Wednesday to tying up his girlfriend, brandishing a handgun and stealing electronic items from her city home.
Rasheed Bohler, 33, pleaded guilty to a robbery charge and unlawful possession of a handgun in connection with the June 8, 2012 incident. Under a plea agreement, prosecutors are recommending a nine-year state prison sentence for Bohler.
That sentence would run concurrent to the nine-year prison term Bohler received on Oct. 5 for robbery and burglary charges related to a Feb. 21, 2012 home invasion robbery in Newark, according to Katherine Carter, spokeswoman for the Essex County Prosecutor's Office.
In that earlier case, a jury convicted Bohler of those charges on Aug. 10 and deadlocked on a kidnapping charge, which was related to allegations that Bohler tied up a 15-year-old boy with strips of cloth from pillow cases during the incident. Prosecutors have dismissed the kidnapping charge, Carter said.
As part of his overall prison sentence of nine years for both incidents, Bohler will have to serve nearly eight years before becoming eligible for parole, and he will receive credit for more than two and a half years of time served.
His sentencing in the second robbery is scheduled for Dec. 14 before Superior Court Judge Richard Sules.
The two incidents occurred while Bohler was on parole stemming from his previous conviction on attempted murder and weapons charges, according to Essex County Assistant Prosecutor Olajide Araromi, who handled both cases.
MORE: Newark man gets 9 years for robbing teen in home invasion
In the first robbery on Feb. 21, 2012, Bohler was convicted of breaking into a Newark apartment and stealing electronic items while the teenager was home alone. The boy has said Bohler was wearing a mask, but he recognized Bohler's voice as being the acquaintance of his mother's whom the teenager had seen twice before.
The teenager claimed he was bound for about an hour with strips of cloth from the pillow cases, broke free after Bohler had left the residence and then called 911. He later identified Bohler as the assailant when he reviewed a photo array of potential suspects.
During the trial, Bohler's attorney, Ann Sorrel, claimed the teenager made up the allegations. Bohler had broken up with the boy's mother, and the child "fed into his own mother's acrimony...towards my client," Sorrel said.
Nearly four months after that incident, authorities said Bohler committed the second robbery on June 8, 2012 when he tied up the woman at her Newark home, brandished a handgun and stole more than $1,200 worth of items from her home, including flat screen TVs, a computer and other electronics, authorities said. Bohler and the woman were in a dating relationship, according to Carter.
Bohler was arrested later that month at a motel in Newark.
Bill Wichert may be reached at bwichert@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillWichertNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.