|
|
|
Russell Pease PHOTO COURTESY OF MAINE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
|
|
Courtesy of Tammy Wells, media specialist, York County Government• |
An Old Orchard Beach man with a history of convictions for
robbery has been sentenced to serve 20 years in state prison for robbing a
Biddeford cheese shop on Dec. 17, 2023.
York County District Attorney Kathryn Slattery said Russell
Pease, 52, appeared before Judge Matthew Tice at York Judicial Center in
Biddeford on Feb. 10, where he entered a guilty plea to robbing Nibblesford
cheese shop on Washington Street in downtown Biddeford.
In a Feb. 14 new release, Slattery said Pease had previously
been convicted of bank robbery and armed robbery in New Hampshire.
Pease entered the cheese shop wearing a surgical mask and
asked the owner, Ian Kern, for help selecting wine, according to the news
release. As Kern rang up the sale, Pease pulled a gun, poked Kern in the chest
and demanded money. He then emptied the cash register and forced Kern into a
back room. Once he was able, Kern called Biddeford Police and provided a
description of the robber. Police collected video from a nearby store, and with
the assistance of Old Orchard Beach Police were able to quickly apprehend
Pease.
At sentencing, York County Assistant District Attorney
Andrew Berggren asked the judge to impose a 20-year sentence. Defense attorney
David Mooney asked for a lesser period of incarceration. After listening to the
sentencing arguments, Slattery said Judge Tice, recognizing the seriousness of
the crime, and the danger Pease posed to the community, agreed with the
prosecution and imposed the 20-year
sentence.
“It is due to the bravery of Mr. Kern and the thorough
police work by the Biddeford Police Department and their law enforcement
partners that a dangerous criminal is now beginning a lengthy prison sentence,”
Slattery said in the news release.
