A man already facing kidnapping charges for allegedly abducting a Springfield Township, Delaware County woman at knifepoint was sentenced Friday to 8 to 16 years in state prison for four armed gas station robberies in Montgomery County, Bucks County and Philadelphia.

Montgomery County Judge Risa Vetri Ferman sentenced Michael Charles Gordon, 33, of the 2100 block of Parkview Avenue in Abington Township, after he pleaded guilty in April to four felony counts of robbery. Gordon appeared at the hearing via video from the county jail, where he has been held without bail since his June 2026 arrest in the kidnapping case.

"These are really horrifying offenses for those who are the victims," Judge Ferman said. She cited Gordon's criminal history, including juvenile and adult convictions, and concluded that he is "likely to commit another crime if released."

The robberies

Gordon held up four gas stations between May and June 2025, according to court papers filed by Abington Detective Andrew Ammaturo and Lower Southampton Detective Stephen Brookes:

  • Sunoco at 300 E. Street Road, Lower Southampton Township, Bucks County, on Wednesday, May 14, 2025
  • Karco gas station at 100 Byberry Road, Philadelphia, on Monday, May 19, 2025
  • Lukoil at 1945 Old York Road, Abington, on Sunday, May 25, 2025
  • A second robbery of the Karco station on Monday, June 30, 2025

During the Lukoil holdup, Gordon entered on inline skates and skated away southbound on Old York Road with the cash. Clerks told police the robber brandished a gun, a knife or a pipe while demanding money. He took between $100 and $2,000 from each business.

Detectives linked Gordon to the crimes through surveillance video and clothing seized from his vehicle and home that matched what the robber wore. A black BB gun was also recovered from a vehicle connected to Gordon. He later gave a full confession admitting to all four robberies, according to the criminal complaint.

Assistant District Attorney Bradley Walter Deckel had requested the 8-to-16-year sentence. Defense lawyer Andrew Kessler argued for 4 to 8 years.

Delaware County kidnapping case still pending

Gordon was free on bail awaiting sentencing for the robberies when he allegedly kidnapped a woman on Bethlehem Pike in Springfield Township, Delaware County, on the night of Friday, June 5.

Springfield Township Detective Stephen P. Craig wrote in the arrest affidavit that Gordon approached the woman as she took out her trash around 10 p.m., armed with a knife in one hand and a hammer in the other. He forced her into her car and made her drive to the Santander Bank in the Flourtown Shopping Center, where she withdrew $100 from an ATM. Gordon then directed her to Kensington in Philadelphia and finally back to his Abington neighborhood, where he fled on foot around 1 a.m. on June 6.

Investigators determined Gordon had initially planned to rob a Lukoil station on Bethlehem Pike and, while waiting, spotted the woman and targeted her instead.

Gordon was held for trial after a preliminary hearing before District Court Judge Katherine E. McGill on charges including kidnapping, burglary, robbery, terroristic threats and false imprisonment. Judge Todd D. Eisenberg will preside over that case in Montgomery County Court. No trial date has been set.

Gordon remains in county jail without bail.