Man Sentenced In 16-Year-Old Robbery

Sonora, CA — A thief already serving a 27-year sentence for a 1999 string of armed robberies in Stanislaus County will serve 11 more for one in Tuolumne County.

Tuolumne County Judge Donald Segerstrom handed down that 11-year sentence  to William Shawn Sturgis on Monday for an April 5, 1999 armed robbery of the Circle K convenience store on Peaceful Oak Road.  On that date, Sturgis, brandishing a .38 caliber handgun, demanded cash and cigarettes from the clerk and took off.  Hours later that same day, Sturgis and his teenage girlfriend, armed with a gun, robbed the Oakdale branch of Wells Fargo Bank, according to Stanislaus County investigators. Officers arrested Sturgis the next day.

During a 1999 interrogation with detectives,  Sturgis admitted to robbing the convenience store and the Tuolumne County District Attorney’s Office subsequently issued a warrant for his arrest, charging him with one count of robbery with an enhancement for personally using a firearm during the robbery.  With several armed robbery charges in Stanislaus County he was tried there first.

With no action taken by Tuolumne County authorities since then, in 2013,  Sturgis, as legally bound, demanded the D.A.’s office bring him to trial or dismiss the case. Monday’s sentencing came after Sturgis pled guilty to the charge.  The D.A.’s office says he will serve the time after completing his 27-year sentence.  Sturgis will not be eligible for parole until he has served over nine years of the 11-year sentence.