AUGUSTA — For robbing the Augusta Kwik Mart on Western Avenue last Thanksgiving, Anthony Manganella will spend four years behind bars.
That sentence is the remainder of a 10-year term suspended while he spends three years on probation.
Manganella, 35, pleaded guilty Thursday at the Capital Judicial Center to a class B robbery charge, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years of imprisonment.
Maine Supreme Judicial Court Associate Justice Donald Alexander imposed the sentence, which had been recommended jointly by the prosecutor and the defense attorney. Alexander also ordered Manganella to pay $574 restitution for the money he stole during the robbery.
Manganella himself told the judge, “I am sorry for what I’ve done. I wasn’t in my right mind.”
Officers arrested Manganella shortly after 11:40 a.m. robbery on Nov. 23, 2017, identifying him and his vehicle with the assistance of surveillance video from the store and traffic footage as well as cellphone mapping data.
The prosecutor, Assistant District Attorney Frayla Tarpinian, said Manganella told officers he had an addiction problem.
“I went five and a half years without opiates,” Manganella told the judge, saying he had been through rehabilitation at St. Mary’s Health System in Lewiston. “I slipped up. That’s why I’m here today.”
Tarpinian described the robbery scene from the clerk’s view, saying, “A man wearing all black pointed a handgun at him and demanded all the money from the register.”
She said the clerk was “terrified for his life” and handed over the money.
The man fled on foot, and not long afterward, Augusta police Sgt. Christopher Shaw conducted a traffic stop on Managanella’s vehicle, finding that he was waring the same clothing that had been seen on the robber in the store as well as with a black BB gun in the center console of the vehicle. No one was hurt in the robbery.
Conditions of probation prohibit Manganella from having contact with the clerk and require substance abuse counseling.
Alexander refused to impose a ban the use of alcohol or possession and use of marijuana after Manganella’s attorney, Lisa Whittier, argued against those conditions.
“Mr. Manganella has never had a problem with alcohol or marijuana,” she said. “He has used (marijuana) medicinally, and it does calm him down.”
Manganella said, “Your honor, I don’t want to be set up for failure.”
Manganella also told the judge that he had been “chewed on by a dog” and that he “used marijuana to manage my pain and my mental state.”
In that July 2011 incident in Manchester, Manganella was one of three people injured. He was hospitalized with arm injuries, including a broken wrist, after he tried to break up a fight between two dogs.
Manganella also won permission to carry tools normally used in his work as a mechanic.
However, Alexander rejected Manganella’s request for a stay in the prison sentence.
Manganella had asked to be allowed to return to owners seven vehicles left at his auto repair shop, put his tools in storage and say goodbye to his children.
“I just don’t think it would be appropriate to authorize a stay in this matter,” Alexander said, suggesting that Whittier might be able to arrange for assistance with some of the issues.
Betty Adams — 621-5631
Twitter: @betadams
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