Staten Island man sentenced in stickup at Va. cigarette distributor

A Staten Island man has been sentenced to six years in prison -- and with a potential for 22 more years if he misbehaves -- for his role in an armed stickup in Virginia that netted cigarettes and cash.
Ariel Peisahovish, 26, was sentenced in Stafford Circuit Court on robbery, abduction and firearms charges, a court spokeswoman said today.
In September, Peisahovish cut a plea deal stemming from the April 10 incident at a Stafford cigarette distributor. Stafford is about midway between Washington, D.C., and Richmond, Va.
Peisahovish's two accomplices, Vyacheslav Elentulch, 24, and Dmitry Khavkin, 26, both of Brooklyn, also cut plea deals. Authorities did not provide a street address for Peisahovish.
According to prosecutor Eric Olsen, Peisahovish and Elentulch pulled a gun on a clerk after Khavkin had gained entry before the store opened. Khavkin knew the clerk.
Peisahovish and Elentulch then tied the clerk's arms to a chair with packing tape and loaded the loot into a van they had rolled up to the store, the prosecutor said.
Before leaving, the suspects took the clerk's driver's license and threatened her.
Employees at a nearby business saw the suspects leave, followed the van to get the plate number and called police. Officers stopped the van as it headed north on Interstate 95.
Cops found almost 1,200 cartons of cigarettes, $4,000 cash and two guns inside, said Olsen.