By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

COLUMBIANA – A 19-year-old Alabaster man who has been charged with allegedly robbing and assaulting a victim earlier this year has asked a judge to grant him youthful offender status, and is set to appear in court in late June.

Joshua Allen, who lists an address on Dilcey Daniels Drive in Alabaster, was arrested by the Alabaster Police Department along with fellow Alabaster resident Keldrin Maurice Burns on Feb. 18 and charged with felony counts of first-degree robbery and second-degree assault.

The charges came after Allen and Burns allegedly robbed the victim of a cell phone, wallet, cash, multiple credit cards, a Social Security card and a driver’s license, and allegedly injured the victim with a handgun during a Feb. 14 incident.

Citing his age, Allen submitted a request to be granted youthful offender status in the crime. If Allen is granted youthful status, he would spend no more than three years in jail, and would give up his right to a trial by jury in lieu of judgement by Circuit Court Judge Daniel Crowson.

Crowson is set to rule on Allen’s youthful offender request during a June 29 hearing in Shelby County District Court.

If he is tried as an adult and convicted, Allen could face up to life in prison and a fine of up to $60,000. Second-degree assault is a class C felony, which carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $15,000 upon conviction. Because a firearm was used in the crime, Allen would face a minimum penalty of 10 years imprisonment.

Both Allen and Burns have been released from the Shelby County Jail on bonds totaling $75,000 apiece.