At his sentencing Wednesday, 24-year-old Kyle Pederson apologized to his victims and to the city of Grand Forks for the panic he generated by committing a series of armed robberies in December 2009.
"I'm truly sorry for the way I've affected, you know, so many other people's lives and for the fear I spread throughout the entire town," Pederson told Judge Lawrence Jahnke of North Dakota District Court.
Defense attorney Blake Hankey portrayed Pederson as a nonviolent young man without a criminal history who was gripped by a drug addiction when he robbed six businesses in Grand Forks, one in East Grand Forks and one in Mayville, N.D.
"He had a very, very bad drug habit and is very remorseful for what he did," Hankey said in court. "I know that he would love to take all of this back."
Accepting the terms of a plea agreement, Jahnke ordered Pederson to serve 8½ years in prison and six years of supervised probation. Pederson must also pay $3,600 in restitution to the Grand Forks victims.
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Authorities said Pederson wore a mask and wielded a BB handgun while robbing clerks at the eight businesses. Roughly $4,000 and more than 200 pain pills were taken during the holdups, the first of which occurred Dec. 9 and last Dec. 21.
Officers arrested Pederson on Dec. 22 at a Grand Forks motel. Police said he admitted to the robberies during an interview. Since his arrest, Pederson has been held at the Grand Forks County jail.
During Wednesday's hearing, Jahnke told Pederson he'd be enrolled in an intensive addiction program in prison. "You've got the ball, now don't drop it," Jahnke told Pederson just before adjourning.
Pederson, East Grand Forks, still faces a robbery charge in Polk County, Minn., and one in Traill County, N.D. He has agreed to be eventually extradited to Polk County. He does not have a court date set in Traill County.
Ingersoll reports on crime and courts. Reach him at (701) 780-1269; (800) 477-6572, ext. 269; or send e-mail to aingersoll@gfherald.com .
