Judge Charles Zambito was in no mood today to give a Batavia man with prior burglary convictions and an admission to a string of burglaries in the City of Batavia late last year much of a break on his sentence in County Court.
Christopher Tyler Sprague, 25, will serve at least three and a half years in state prison and could serve as much as seven, under the terms of his sentence today.
Zambito could have given Sprague up to 15 years in prison but chose not to make his sentences consecutive on his conviction on two counts of third-degree burglary.
Sprague was arrested in January, accused of burglarizing several businesses in Batavia in December.
He also served a stint in state prison on a burglary conviction in 2012 and was arrested on burglary charges in 2016 and served a term in prison on a felony criminal mischief conviction.
Today, Sprague vowed he was ready to turn his life around and asked for a second chance.
"If you can't show me mercy, please do it for my fiancée, my siblings, and my mother," Sprague told Zambito. "Please consider a Willard (rehabilitation) sentence so I can get home as soon as possible and help me get help and get into rehab.
"Your honor," he added, "I'm sincerely ready and willing to change, to change my life around."
Sprague said he had a job on a farm waiting for him once he's out of jail and that he intended to fully compensate his victims.
"I feel horrible for the acts I did and I take full responsibility for what I did," Sprague said.
Zambito said the defendant's criminal record left him unconvinced that he could rely on Sprague to really turn his life around.
"I look at your record and you tell me you've turned a new leaf and you're going to take care of your substance abuse problem but you've already served multiple state sentences for burglary," Zambito said.
Zambito also ordered Sprague to pay restitution, with interest, of $3,897.48, in increments of $100 a month starting 60 days after his release from prison.
