(Stillwater, Okla.) — A 25-year-old Stillwater man was given a 40-year prison term this week for committing three armed robberies at Stillwater businesses last year — while wearing disguises.
Jackson Pascal Rwezaula, a native of Tanzania who grew up in Stillwater, was arrested at his home on May 21, 2013, four days after the last robbery, Stillwater Police Detective Cody Manuel wrote in an affidavit.
A Payne County jury recommended prison sentences totaling 65 years — 20 years for a Check N Go hold-up on May 17, 2013, 20 years for an OnCue hold-up on May 1, 2013, and 25 years for a Great Wall Chinese Restaurant hold-up on April 18, 2013.
The jury of nine men and three women had deliberated for about five hours in April before convicting Rwezaula of those three armed robberies and acquitting him of a Feb. 2, 2013, hold-up at Approved Cash Advance.
District Judge Phillip Corley on Tuesday ordered that the 20-year prison terms run consecutively for a total of 40 years, with the 25-year prison term running concurrently, court records show.
During her closing argument at the April trial, prosecutor Karen Dixon called the robber’s behavior escalating and said that the last one at Check N Go was “the worst, pretty bold, pretty aggressive, pretty menacing, pretty violent.
The female clerk “thought she was going to die. He’s masked, he’s armed. He’s daring police to find him,” Dixon said.
After a clear image of the robber’s face was captured on surveillance video, police distributed it throughout the community on flyers and by traditional and social media, the affidavit said.
In a presentencing report, the victim in the last robbery said “she was very scared of being killed by the defendant, and she was unable to return to her job afterwards.
“She reports that she was unable to work for approximately seven months after the offense due to her anxiety, and that she attended counseling for approximately three months because of this offense.
“She reports that she has been diagnosed with high anxiety and post-traumatic stress due to this crime,” the report said.
Rwezaula, who came to America with his parents when he was 7, said “he is here illegally and subject to deportation,” the report said.
Rwezaula said that he was graduated from Stillwater High School in 2007 and attended Oklahoma State University and Northern Oklahoma College, the report said.
Rwezaula said that he most recently worked at a Stillwater catering firm for two months in 2012 and left “to pursue acting,” the report said. He said he had worked at several restaurants in Stillwater, the report said.
He reported that he has used alcohol 26 to 50 times, marijuana 11 to 25 times, and tranquilizers one to 10 times in his life, the report said.
Rwezaula said “I woke up one day and I was not Jackson Pascal Rwezaula that those who loved and still love me know. I am sorry for what I have done to these people and the people of Stillwater. I made a mistake that I hope one day can be forgiven for.”
***
