RAPID CITY, S.D. – A Rapid City man has been sentenced to prison for his role in two separate convenience store robberies that occurred just days apart in 2023.
Twenty-one-year-old Hayden Marshal received two 10-year prison sentences, each with six years suspended. The sentences will run concurrently, meaning they will be served at the same time.
According to prosecutors, the first robbery occurred on September 2, 2023. Eight days later, Marshal was involved in a second incident in which a convenience store employee was threatened with a knife during the theft of vape products. Through a plea agreement, Marshal entered an Alford plea to first-degree robbery and aggravated assault, while other charges were dismissed.
Defense attorneys pointed to Marshal’s age at the time of the offenses, his struggles with substance abuse, and the progress he has made since then, including earning his GED while incarcerated. Judge Heidi Linngren acknowledged those positive changes but noted that both incidents could have resulted in serious injury or death.
The judge said she sees potential in Marshal and hopes he continues making positive choices when he eventually returns to the community.
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