Christian James Shepard | EPD

A Rio Dell man who went on a two-week robbery spree ranging from McKinleyville to Benbow was sentenced this morning to 25 years in state prison.

Christian James Shepard, 27, robbed numerous businesses in November 2016, usually masked and always packing a gun. He negotiated a plea to one count of second-degree robbery, for which he got five years, and a special firearms allegation that added 20 years to his prison term.

“Twenty-five years is a lot of time to spend in prison,” Deputy District Attorney Trent Timm said during the sentencing this morning before Judge Dale Reinholtsen. “He’s a young man. But he has to pay what he owes.”

Timm, addressing Shepard, said he hopes he can come out of prison as a positive member of the community.

Shepard’s attorney, Deputy Conflict Counsel David Lee, said Shepard has expressed “extreme remorse” for the trauma he caused his victims. Those included clerks at gas stations, grocery stores, motels and other businesses.

“He was driven by pathological forces related to his drug addiction,” Lee said. “He regrets the things that he did.”

###

PREVIOUS LoCO SHEPARD COVERAGE:

• Suspect in String of Ten Armed Robberies Arrested After Hiding From Police in the Woods
• (PHOTOS) EPD Releases More Info on Suspect in String of Recent Armed Robberies
• Suspect in Shotgun Crime Spree Arraigned on Nine Counts of Robbery
• COURT ROUNDUP: Two Murder Cases, One Serial Armed Robbery Case All Pushed Back, for Various Reasons
• Suspect in 2016 Armed Robbery Spree Set for Early Trial
• ‘Long-Barrel Bandit’ Case Set For August Trial; Suspect in Ten Armed Robberies Could Face Decades in Prison
• ‘Long-Barrel Bandit’ Accepts Plea, Will Serve 25 Years; Rio Dell Man Committed Eight Armed Robberies Throughout Humboldt

###

Just one victim, Brenda Vait from the Red Front Store in Ferndale, attended the sentencing. Outside court, Vait recounted the day when Shepard entered her shop.

She said she was working in the back of the store, but a monitor allowed her to see when a customer entered the front door.

“He came in,” Vait recalled, “and before I could do anything I had a gun in my face. He directed me to the cash register, and I just stood there and let him take the cash.”

The robber was “masked, cloaked and gloved,” she said. “All I could see were his eyes.”

Shepard was sentenced to an additional 138 days in prison for numerous counts of robbery and weapons violations, but that time will be served concurrently with the 25-year term. He was given credit for 546 days in Humboldt County Correctional Facility.

Shepard also was ordered to pay restitution to some of the victimized businesses, including $500 to Benbow Inn, $450 to Winco Foods, $315 to Redwood Riverwalk Hotel, $400 to Holiday Inn Express, $250 to a Chevron Mini-mart, $240 to the Red Front Store, $450 to Stop and Shop Market and $146.64 to an oil and tire company.

Shepard did not speak during the sentencing.  He’s had his head shaved since his last court appearance.