SIOUX FALLS (AP) -- A 61-year-old man who was a successful banker and community leader before his life spiraled into despair has been sentenced to eight years in prison for a string of convenience store robberies in the Sioux Falls region.
David Mentzer never used a weapon in his crimes and was polite to the clerks he robbed -- he even said "please" and "thank you" during one of the robberies, according to his attorney. But a prosecutor says the robberies scared clerks. The judge who sentenced Mentzer on Wednesday was perplexed by his failure to reach out for help.
"You were embarrassed about your financial situation, you were embarrassed to ask for help, but for some strange reason, you were not embarrassed about putting your fellow citizens in danger," Judge Peter Lieberman said. "Maybe you have an answer, but that I cannot understand."
Mentzer pleaded guilty in March to two robbery charges in Minnehaha County. In addition to the prison term he will have to repay about $2,200 he took from the stores. He still faces charges in Lincoln County, where a plea hearing is scheduled May 29 on robbery and attempted robbery counts.
Mentzer once had a successful career and served as president of the Aberdeen Jaycees and the Chamber of Commerce, before losing a daughter to leukemia, a wife to divorce and a son to drug abuse and prison, according to media reports. He lost jobs to downsizing, lost money in real estate deals and eventually declared bankruptcy. He was depressed, living with a roommate and unable to pay his bills when he decided to commit the first of five robberies.
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He apologized for his crimes and told Lieberman that no amount of prison time would be worse than the shame he had caused his family.
"It's going to be quite small compared to the sentence I've given myself in trying to restore my family name," he said.
Minnehaha County Deputy State's Attorney Ryan Sage said Mentzer's financial troubles and personal tragedies cannot excuse or explain repeated, premeditated criminal behavior, particularly for a man who once worked as an overnight convenience store clerk.
"These were planned-out, violent events. He knew what he was doing," Sage said. "He knew that this was these staff members' worst fear."
