A Mechanicsburg man will serve five to 10 years in state prison for the Dec. 28, 2004, robbery of the Port Royal Uni-Mart after appearing in the Juniata County Court of Common Pleas for sentencing Monday.
Matthew T. Herbster, 28, pleaded guilty Sept. 26 to one count of robbery with threat of bodily injury stemming from the incident.
Herbster entered the store during the afternoon of Dec. 28 and used a black gun with a red tip to commit the robbery, after which he made off with an undetermined amount of cash, court documents indicate.
Herbster later used the money to purchase heroin, according to documents.
“I made a grievous mistake. I wish I could turn back the clock, but I can’t,” Herbster said as he stood before Judge Kathy A. Morrow.
“What I’ve suffered is minimal to what everyone else has suffered … the victim, the community,
“I’m a disappointment to my family, and I need to rebuild my life,” Herbster said.
Kay Benner, the Uni-Mart employee on duty at the time of the robbery, stood before the court to make a statement to Herbster describing the impact the robbery has had on her life.
“Do you know or even care how I felt on Dec. 28? You knew exactly what you were doing the whole time you were in the store,” Benner said.
“You kept pushing the buttons on the ATM machine so I would think you were getting money when you were really checking out the store. I’ll never forget you yelling at me, pointing the gun at me,” she said.
“We used to say ‘a little town like Port Royal, nobody will rob our store.’ Well, we now know it can and will happen,” she said.
Benner said she doesn’t trust people anymore and continues to have nightmares as a result of the robbery. She also described having to take medication and receive counseling as ” … something I thought I’d never have to do.”
“I had to quit my job as assistant manager – a job I liked – because of you. God tells me not to hate, but right now, I do hate you,” Benner said.
“I’m not ready to forgive you. Maybe someday I will. I respectfully ask the court to give you the maximum sentence allowed by law,” she said.
Herbster’s defense attorney, Joseph Hitchings, asked the judge to give his client the recommended state sentence of five to 10 years, with credit for time served in the Juniata County Prison.
District Attorney Ken Mummah concurred, acknowledging Herbster did not blame his actions on his reported drug use.
“He’s accepting responsibility for what he did,” Mummah said.
In addition to his state prison time, Herbster was ordered to pay court costs and make restitution in the amount of $500. He also received credit for time served in the county prison.
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