A woman robbed at gunpoint last August confronted her assailant in Butte district court Thursday.
Sharon Wilson told Thomas J. McGovern, 27, during a sentencing hearing that he “completely ruined” her life when he robbed the Magic Castle Casino, where she was working Aug. 8.
“Your actions were unnecessary, heartless and cruel,” Wilson said in a prepared statement she read before the court.
Judge Brad Newman sentenced McGovern to 30 years in prison with 10 years suspended. McGovern will serve his time at the Montana State Prison in Deer Lodge.
Newman also ordered McGovern to pay about $4,300 in restitution.
McGovern pleaded guilty to felony robbery earlier this year.
On the night of the robbery, McGovern entered the casino at 2225 Amherst wearing a mask, dressed in dark clothing and armed with a small revolver. He demanded money from Wilson and a customer in the casino before leaving.
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McGovern was charged about a month later when he was already in police custody at the Butte jail on a separate probation violation.
During Thursday’s hearing, McGovern apologized to the victim stating that he did it out of a “need to feed my addiction” to illegal drugs.
“When I’m sober and clean, I’m a good person,” McGovern said.
McGovern asked Newman to give him a shorter sentence, so he may seek treatment for his addiction. He added that he’s capable of staying out of trouble when he’s not on drugs.
“I’m a drug addict; I’m not a career criminal,” he said.
Records show McGovern has had a history of these types of crimes. He was convicted of a May 2000 robbery at the Front Street Thriftway. He was sentenced in February 2001 to 10 years with five years suspended from that sentence. He was free on probation when he committed the robbery in August.
McGovern also was accused in the Aug. 3 robbery of Montana Lil’s Casino, 1400 Harrison Ave. However, Newman dismissed that charge for McGovern’s guilty plea in the Aug. 8 robbery.
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