Mills Man Sentenced to Prison for Role in 2015 Home Invasion
A Mills man is headed to prison for conspiring with three others to steal marijuana from an alleged drug dealer during an armed home invasion in 2015.
District Judge Catherine Wilking on Thursday sentenced 22-year-old Konnor Patrick Rollison to a prison term of six to 12 years. As part of an agreement with prosecutors, Rollison in February pleaded guilty to felony charges of aggravated burglary and aiding and abetting larceny.
Charging papers say Rollison and three others went to a trailer home in Evansville during July 2015 in order to take marijuana and other items from someone.
During his change-of-plea hearing in February, Rollison told Wilking that he was armed with a hatchet while the others had firearms.
The victim did not report the incident to authorities until 2016, explaining that the robbers had threatened to kill him if he talked to police.
Assistant District Attorney Dan Itzen said at that February hearing that two of the other people allegedly involved -- Tanner Davis and Gabriel Ingles -- would stand trial later this year.
On Thursday, Rollison told Wilking that he understood the plea deal called for a prison sentence. However, Rollison asked for "an opportunity to show that I'm not that same person," saying he has come a long way since he committed the crimes nearly three years ago.
His voice shaking, Rollison apologized to the victims during his statement to the court.
"At no point in time did I think it was a just action," Rollison said. "Those people didn't deserve that."
"This happened when I was nineteen, and I'll be twenty-three in a couple of months," Rollison explained.
After announcing the sentence, Wilking commended Rollison for taking responsibility for his actions, and for checking into substance abuse treatment. Rollison was not able to finish that treatment, as his insurance only covered it up to a certain point.
"You fully acknowledge and embrace the wrongness of [the crimes]," Wilking told Rollison. "It is very rare that I ever see anything like that in a [presentence investigation] report."
Wilking said it is clear that Rollison is a different person than he was at the time the crimes were committed.
"But, obviously, there has to be accountability and a sentence for the crimes that you committed," Wilking added.
"Please don't think that right now you are going to spend this full amount of time in prison," Wilking continued, explaining that she believed Rollison would likely be placed in a work camp and have an opportunity at parole.
"You have so many people that are supportive of you and know you you really are," Wilking told Rollison. Wilking encouraged Rollison to, while he is in prison, continue to read the letters of support submitted on his behalf, "because that's who you really are, not the person I'm sentencing right now."