The robber apologized to his victims this morning in Lancaster County Court and quietly accepted the judge's sentence of 7 to 14 years in prison.

William A. Stockbauer Jr. told the judge that he's sorry for what he did, but he is ready to get on with serving his sentence so that he can focus on his treatment for cancer and his addiction to drugs.

Stockbauer's attorney, David Blanck, told the judge that his client is bipolar and the robbery "was a crime of desperation, because of his mental illness and drug addiction."

"Luckily, no one was hurt," Blank said. "This was a terrible action on his part."

Stockbauer, 50, of Lancaster, pleaded guilty in November to robbery, conspiracy and committing a crime with a firearm, for holding up Smiley's Deli, 402 N. Duke St., at around 7 p.m. on March 1, 2007.

The clerk was not hurt, police said at the time, and a surveillance video recorded the entire incident, helping police to quickly identify the suspect.

Stockbauer was arrested the following day as he was leaving the hospital after receiving treatment for his cancer of the throat and brain stem, Blanck said. He has been in county prison since that time, continuing his treatment, which has included chemotherapy.

Judge David Ashworth noted that the defendant has a college degree in human resources and social services and is a veteran of the U.S. Navy.

He has completed professional training in various construction skills, and also received a barber's license, the court was told.

But his mental-health issues, as well as an addiction to cocaine, heroin and marijuana, have resulted in a lengthy prior record that includes numerous drug and bad-check charges that filled 22 pages of a court file, Ashworth noted.

"You have the smarts to be successful," Ashworth noted, but told Stockbauer he needed to get his drug addiction under control.

"You have to be held accountable," Ashworth said. "You could have done this without a gun."

Assistant District Attorney Christopher Larsen indicated that because Stockbauer immediately cooperated with city police, prosecutors were not asking that the sentence be more severe because a gun was used in the crime.

"What I did was wrong," Stockbauer told the judge, adding that he wanted "to apologize to my victim."

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