The Erie teen who in August pleaded guilty to two separate robberies in the vicinity of the Gannon University campus received his sentence on Oct. 25.
Shawn D. Payne, 18, was sentenced by Erie County Judge Daniel Brabender for three to six years in state prison and to pay over $600 dollars in restitution.
Payne has already served nearly a year in prison since his arrest on Dec. 1.
Payne pleaded guilty to a first-degree felony count of robbery that included two separate robberies that occurred on Nov. 4 and Nov. 16, 2015.
The Nov. 4 robbery involved a woman who was not a Gannon student and occurred in the 200 block of West Eighth Street around 5:45 a.m.
The women said she felt the suspect press a gun to the back of her neck and he demanded she give him her money and cell phone, according to the affidavit written by Erie Police Detective Chris Janus.
The second robbery involved a female Gannon student and occurred in the 400 block of West Sixth Street around 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 16.
The student said she gave the suspect her phone and purse after the suspect hit her on the shoulder with a handgun and demanded her phone.
Many Gannon students who have been following the robbery cases involving Payne have come to form their own opinions on whether or not the sentence was fair.
Sophomore physician assistant major Mike Coyle said that the possible full term sentence of six years may be excessive.
“Obviously what he did was wrong and illegal, but if you think about it, six years is a lot of time,” he said. “That’s more than most of us will be in college.”
Sophomore English and Spanish major Kate Robb agrees that the sentence may be too much in comparison to the sentences for other crimes.
“It’s ridiculous that Brock Turner served a three-month sentence for rape but [Payne] could be in jail for possibly six years for robbery,” she said. “I also think that an extensive amount of community service could be a little more beneficial in reforming someone for an incident like this.”
Other Gannon students feel that the sentence for Payne is fair, and even generous.
Sophomore pre-med major Jared McLaughlin said that he believed the sentence was a little lenient given the degree of the crime.
“Although no one was hurt, there has to be a standard upheld to keep the Erie community and the Gannon campus safe,” he said.
Freshman biology major Bailey Merritt agrees said that the sentence was fair.
“In three to six years I hope he will have learned his lesson and not to do something like that again,” she said.
Merritt was a dual enrollment student last year during the time that the robberies occurred and recalls feeling unsafe on campus during that time.
“I was afraid to walk to my car. I made sure that I kept my keys between my knuckles, carried pepper spray and tried not to be on my phone so that I could be alert,” she said. “It’s really sad that it had to be that way but I know I wasn’t the only student or faculty member that was afraid. I do feel safer now, but you can never be too cautious.”
OLIVIA BURGER
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