Teen sentenced for robbery

PALMER -- Judge Eric Smith sentenced Shannon Stenhoff in Palmer Superior Court Monday to three-and-a-half years in prison for his role in the January 2001 armed robbery of the Hatcher Pass Gateway Center store and a subsequent car-jacking.

Stenhoff, 18, originally faced 12 felony counts stemming from the one-night crime spree he shared with James McAnulty and Jason Geisler, but entered into a plea agreement in June, pleading no contest to one charge of armed robbery instead. The remaining charges were dismissed in exchange for Stenhoff's plea and his full cooperation with the state prosecutor.

According to court documents, Stenhoff, who was only 16 years old at the time, told troopers that McAnulty had ordered him to rob the Hatcher Pass Gateway store under threat of his own death. He reportedly told troopers that on the day of the armed robbery and carjacking he was to be "jumped" or initiated into a gang headed by McAnulty, whom he said "tells everyone what to do."

In making his sentencing recommendation, Palmer District Attorney Roman Kalytiak said Stenhoff's partners in the crime were worse offenders with worse backgrounds than his, but pointed out that Stenhoff had been the main perpetrator of the armed robbery and had aided and abetted the car-jacking. He said that in view of Stenhoff's subsequent cooperation with the prosecution, testimony at grand jury, and assistance with a previously unsolved shooting, the state recommended a sentence of 10 years, with six suspended, leaving four years to serve and five years probation.

Kalytiak said the recommended sentence was not far from the defense's request for a three-and-a-half-year sentence.

Speaking for the defendant, Defense Attorney Scott Sterling said Stenhoff had come forward with information about serious criminal activities. According to Sterling, Stenhoff has shown a sense of responsibility, good conscience and good judgment in trying to do everything he could from a factual and legal standpoint -- that he has tried to do the right thing.

"The McAnulty/Geisler crime matrix is well-known," said Sterling. "It has ensnared many people in its tentacles over time."

Sterling said Stenhoff was just hanging out with the McAnulty crowd, but McAnulty's threatening of Stenhoff with a gun was no excuse for the robbery. Although both McAnulty and Geisler were prone to violence, Sterling said, Stenhoff could have done something different than rob the store, but he did not.

His client was truly remorseful, Sterling said, citing a background of personal, psychological and family problems that contributed to the young man's problems.

Stenhoff's mother addressed the court, asking Smith to consider a three-and-one-half-year sentence for her son. She said her son had done the right thing in cooperating, even though it had put his family at risk for retaliation.

"We need him very much at home," she said. "I believe Shannon has learned to do what is right in life."

Stenhoff made a brief statement to the court, saying he wanted to apologize to his victims.

"I've thought a lot about what I put them through."

He added that he also thought about his future.

"Sitting behind bars is not what I want to do in life," he said. "I have too much going for me, and my family needs me."

He closed by asking the court for the lesser sentence.

In making his ruling, Smith recalled Stenhoff's appearance at his arraignment, saying that he had seen a kid who suddenly realized he had made a "great big mistake."

"He got the picture and saw what he had to do," said Smith of Stenhoff's decision to cooperate fully with authorities.

"But I will say that what happened that night was horrible," added Smith.

"He put those people through a lot of terror."

Although he said he felt Stenhoff was a good prospect for rehabilitation, Smith said it would be harder than [Stenhoff] thinks.

"Parole is not an entitlement," Smith said. "You will still have to earn it."

Without aggravating factors, Smith ruled that the appropriate sentence was seven years, with three-and-a-half years to serve.

"This says to others that if you commit serious crimes, you can still help yourself," Smith said.

Jim Turner, owner of Hatcher Pass Gateway Store, said in an interview Monday that the 2001 robbery was the fourth armed robbery at his store, the others were in 1986, 1997 and 2000. According to Turner, the clerk robbed at gunpoint by Stenhoff was the same clerk robbed in the 2000 crime. She remained on the job for a few more months following the 2001 robbery, but then quit the job as the days became shorter again.

Turner figures he has also had in the neighborhood of 100 break-ins and attempted break-ins.

"I've taken precautions to keep this kind of thing from happening again," Turner said. "If I didn't take an aggressive and active stance against crime in my business, my business wouldn't exist."

He added, "Everyone who has robbed this store has been arrested and convicted."

Asked about his reaction to Stenhoff's sentence, Turner replied, "I have a tendency not to be sympathetic to people who put themselves in situations where things like this can happen."