Topeka man sentenced to four years in prison for August robbery at The Reserve

A 19-year-old Topeka man was sentenced to more than four years in prison Friday for attempted aggravated robbery and criminal possession of a firearm stemming from an Aug. 29 incident at The Reserve apartment complex, 2511 W. 31st St.

Sterling J. Wilkins, along with co-defendant Garrett Paulson, 19, were accused of approaching three Kansas University students with a gun Aug. 29.

Police said a struggle ensued between Wilkins and a male student standing outside an SUV, and then Wilkins punched the victim and struck him on his head with the pistol, which fired into the ground.

Wilkins was found guilty Oct. 3 of two counts of attempted aggravated robbery and one count of criminal possession of a firearm. The robbery count is a level five person felony and required a prison sentence, according to state sentencing guidelines. Douglas County District Court Judge Peggy Kittel allowed the two robbery sentences to run concurrently as a 44-month sentence, but an eight-month sentence for the gun charge, running consecutively, extends the total to 52 months.

Paulson, the other defendant, pleaded guilty last month to attempted robbery and criminal threat and was sentenced to three years of probation.