By Janice Gregorson
gregor@postbulletin.com
A 23-year-old man convicted of aiding in the kidnapping and robbery of an Elgin-area man was sentenced in Rochester on Thursday to nearly five years in prison.
Olmsted District Judge Jodi Williamson sentenced Patrick Louis Eggerichs to serve 58 months, rejecting both defense and prosecution motions for departure from standard sentencing guidelines
Eggerichs was convicted by a jury last month of first-degree aggravated robbery, terrorist threats, false imprisonment and kidnapping.
ADVERTISEMENT
Williamson sentenced him on the robbery and kidnapping charges and vacated the other two convictions.
Prosecutors requested a prison term of 116 months, or nearly 10 years. The defense sought a downward departure in prison time, saying Eggerichs was a passive player in the crime.
Two others involved in the case are serving similar prison terms. Christine Webster, 35, and Jesse Pahl, 21, entered plea agreements last year.
The three were accused of going into a rural Elgin home on Feb. 21, 2001, assaulting the homeowner after demanding money and using his ATM bank card, and leaving him tied to a chair in the basement.
Eggerichs testified at trial that he was not active in the crime and didn't know what Pahl and Webster were planning. He said he tried to help the victim and tied him loosely to the chair.
"I feel really bad for (the victim)," Eggerichs said before he was sentenced.
Williamson ordered Eggerichs to pay a $90 fine and be jointly responsible for $1,095.01 in restitution. He will receive credit for time served since his arrest last July in West Virginia.
