A 15-year-old youth from North Preston has been sentenced to 14 months in jail for his part in a series of crimes over the summer, including a violent home invasion.

The youth, who cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, pleaded guilty during an earlier court appearance and was sentenced Friday morning at Youth Court in Halifax.

He got five months credit for time served and will serve six more months in jail before spending three months in secure custody in the community. In addition, he will be on probation for 10 months.

The 15-year-old and another teenager forced their way into the home of an elderly man in the Portland Estates subdivision in Dartmouth on the afternoon of July 18.

The other youth had a gun and they demanded the man's car keys. When he refused, they took the 81-year-old man to the basement and assaulted him.

"It was a very severe incident," said Terry Nickerson, the Crown attorney.

"It doesn't get much more serious than that and the judge recounted some case law where our Court of Appeal considers it more serious than a bank robbery."

Once the two teens had the man's Buick, the 15-year-old drove the car to East Preston where they picked up four other youths. The group then broke into a house in that community — that crime was captured on security cameras.

The 15-year-old sat in the stolen car while others stole items, including a large-screen TV. What they couldn't fit in the car, they smashed on the lawn.

The car sustained about $5,000 in damages before it was recovered by police.

Two of the youths involved in the East Preston break-in have been identified from the security video. They have pleaded guilty and will be sentenced at a later date.

Two others haven't been identified.

The youth accused of brandishing the gun in both crimes has pleaded not guilty and will go to trial next year.

As for the 81-year-old victim of the home invasion, Nickerson talked to him just before the sentencing.

"He's doing fine now. But at the time, obviously, it's a very stressful event," said Nickerson.