UPDATE:
Shepherd pled guilty on Sept. 27 to robbing Jack's Mini Mart in The Dalles. He will spend nine years in prison and pay restitution to both Subway in Hood River and Jack’s.
Hood River County District Attorney John Sewell and Wasco County District Attorney Eric Nisley worked together on a settlement for both cases.
“We felt the sentence was fair and appropriate,” said Nisley.
A Hood River man on Wednesday pled guilty to robbing Subway restaurant at gunpoint this summer.
Tucker Douglas Shepherd, 21, was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison.
Shepherd will pay $272 in restitution to the sandwich shop at 1920 Cascade Ave., which prosecutors say he held up with a shotgun on July 3 before fleeing the scene with cash in tow. He was arrested at Hood River Library later that week.
Shepherd is also accused of robbing Jack’s Mini-Mart in The Dalles the day before his arrest, a similar charge for which he’s scheduled to enter a plea before a judge in Wasco County Circuit Court next week.
The Subway robbery case, however, has drawn to a close.
Shepherd appeared Wednesday morning before Judge John Wolf in the Hood River County courthouse, via video feed from Northern Oregon Regional Corrections facility, to enter a guilty plea.
Except for briefly answering Wolf’s questions, Shepherd didn’t speak during his hearing. It was over in about five minutes.
Shepherd’s attorney, Bernice Melamud testified, “On July 3, 2016, Mr. Shepherd entered Subway in Hood River with a shotgun and threatened physical force on (a female Subway employee) who was working at the cash register, in the course of committing theft.”
Prosecutors asserted in July that Shepherd made off with an undisclosed amount of cash from that register between $100 and $1,000 dollars.
John Sewell, Hood River County District Attorney, said Wednesday that authorities recovered $834 from Shepherd’s vehicle during their investigation. When describing conditions in Shepherd’s plea agreement, Sewell referred not only to the Subway robbery, but also the holdup at Jack’s.
“The defendant’s agreed to make restitution to both the Subway sandwich shop in Hood River and to Jack’s Mini-Mart in The Dalles … we’re agreeing that the money seized can be applied to the restitution,” Sewell said.
Sewell mentioned he had conferred with Wasco County District Attorney Eric Nisley. He anticipated Shepherd will appear soon before a judge in Wasco County, at which time the “balance of this negotiated plea will be entered.”
However, Sewell said, “To be clear, I think we have all of the evidence here.”
“All right, Mr. Shepherd, that is going to be your sentence. I’m going to follow your agreement with the state,” Wolf said.
Robbery in the first degree is an Oregon Measure 11 offense, among the most severe felony charges in state law, which carries a minimum sentence of 90 months.
Shepherd will receive credit for time served in NORCOR, but will also spend three years in a post-prison supervision program after his release from prison.
“(You) have ended up with a fairly significant sentence,” Wolf said. “I hope you use the time to evaluate where you’re at, get yourself back on the right track, and maybe take advantage of some of the programs that they’ve got available. I wish you luck, sir.”
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