Pet Wash Robber Gets a Six Year Prison Sentence
(PRWEB) October 21, 2013 -- Richard Hegquist was sentenced to 71 months in prison on Wednesday, but he likely won't be complaining. Criminal defense attorney Kevin DeVore says the prison sentence was an excellent deal.
Hegquist held up a combo car-and-pet wash in July, using a screwdriver as his weapon of choice according to the Star Tribune (10.10.2013). A single robbery wouldn't normally carry such a stiff sentence, but Hegquist has been arrested 44 times in his criminal career.
Based on Hegquist's prior convictions, which include 12 felonies, DeVore says the sentence could easily have been decades.
“This is someone who hardly walks out of jail before being arrested again,” said DeVore, the founder of the DeVore Law Office. “Prosecutors and judges both get tougher when they believe a person is beyond rehabilitation.”
According to the Star Tribune, Hegquist's first arrest was for underage drinking when he was 20, but he then slid into theft by check, theft by swindle, and forgery charges according to court records. He has also plead guilty to a variety of burglary and theft charges. In total he has been involved in 59 court cases over 17 years.
The Star Tribune reported that at the pet and car wash, police say that Hegquist stole $100 from a change machine and punched the owner in the face. The owner says the robbery caused over $1,400 in damages reported by the Star Tribune.
“The prosecutors originally wanted first-degree aggravated robbery and other charges, and wanted him tried as a career criminal,” DeVore said, “Altogether that could have carried 40 years in prison.”
Instead, DeVore says that Hegquist agreed to plead guilty to a second-degree burglary charge.
“The plea bargain gives Mr. Hegquist an opportunity to start over, eventually, and it saves the court a great deal of time and cost,” DeVore said. “It allows them to focus resources on more important criminals.”
About Kevin DeVore:
Kevin W. DeVore is an experienced Minneapolis criminal defense attorney and founder of the DeVore Law Office. He has achieved numerous courtroom victories for his clients. Mr. DeVore has been named a SuperLawyer for nine consecutive years and has one of the strongest success records of any lawyer in Minnesota. He can be contacted at:
30 East 7th Street
Suite 2800
St. Paul, MN 55101
(612) 836-9501
Kevin W. DeVore, DeVore Law Office, http://www.devorelawoffice.com/, 651.312.6519, [email protected]
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