A Lincoln man who lost his wallet when he was disarmed and dragged out of a North Bottoms house by his ankles during an attempted robbery in 2016 got prison time for it Monday.
Matthew J. Russell, 21, pleaded guilty to attempted robbery.
"I would just like to apologize to the victims and everyone else involved," he said.
His attorney, John F. Aman, said Russell is coming out of the whole thing a changed person. He said while the victims didn't deserve for this to happen, they were dealing drugs.
They waited 45 minutes before they called police to report it, Aman said. But, he added, the community can't have people doing what Russell did.
Russell has realized how serious this was and has worked to turn his life around, the defense attorney said.
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Lincoln police said they went to a home in the 1400 block of North Ninth Street on a report of an armed robbery, where two men armed with shotguns came in through an unlocked front door and demanded money.Ìý
A confrontation ensued, according to police.
One of the robbers ended up running out. The second, Russell, was punched in the face, stripped of the shotgun and dragged out of the house by his ankles. In the struggle, he dropped his wallet and driver's license.
By the time police went to arrest Russell, he already had turned himself in on an unrelated warrant. Prosecutors ended up charging him with robbery.
Monday, Deputy Lancaster County Attorney Eric Miller said the men left with some marijuana.
Regardless of who the victims were, he said, this is unacceptable activity.
"We see it way too much here," Miller said.
He said what happened put the whole neighborhood in danger of a potential shootout. Miller asked for Russell to be sentenced to prison.Ìý
Lancaster County District Judge Andrew Jacobsen said the fact that loaded firearms were involved upped the ante.
"People in this community have been killed, all over a bag of marijuana," he said.
Then, he sentenced Russell to seven to 12 years in prison.
Siefeldien Mohammed, the getaway driver, got 18 months of prison and 18 months of post-release supervision. Mohammed, 25,Ìýpleaded no contest to being an accessory.
A third man charged, Akhenaten Alison, is being sought on a warrant for his alleged involvement.