The first of five co-defendants convicted on charges related to a violent home-invasion robbery in November 2014 was sentenced Thursday to three and a half years in prison.

Driskell Alan Johnson

Driskell Alan Johnson, 20, pleaded guilty in March to two counts of aggravated robbery after forcefully entering an apartment in the 900 block of Arkansas Street on Nov. 8, 2014, pistol whipping residents inside and stealing more than $1,000 in cash and $1,000 worth of marijuana, according to court testimony.

Johnson committed the crime with four others: Zachary John Pence, 21, Gabriel Alexander Patterson, 21, Cody Scott Kukuk, 22 and Yusef Muhammad Kindell, 21. Pence, Kukuk and Kindell took plea agreements, and a jury found Patterson guilty of his charges earlier this month. Those four will be sentenced in June.

Originally charged with three counts of aggravated robbery, aggravated battery and aggravated burglary, Johnson took a plea agreement with the state for the reduced charges and a recommended 42-month sentence. As part of the agreement, Johnson had to testify at Patterson’s jury trial.

At the sentencing hearing Thursday, Johnson apologized to the court for his actions and expressed remorse for the violence he committed.

“I’m sorry that you had to see a side of me that rarely surfaces,” Johnson said.

Johnson’s parents told District Judge Paula Martin that Johnson’s drug addiction prior to the crime contributed to his involvement. Johnson told Martin that he had ingested Xanax, cocaine, marijuana and “whippets,” or the nitrous oxide from whipped cream canisters.

Martin noted that Johnson appeared healthier and more alert after spending more than six months in the Douglas County Jail. Driskell testified at Patterson’s trial that he had gained about 40 pounds in jail since his arrest.

Martin said she had ordered a competency evaluation for Johnson during the initial phase of his court proceeding because she was unsure whether Johnson had a substance abuse problem or a mental illness.

“You stand here today a different person,” Martin said.

Also on Thursday, Prosecutor Eve Kemple read statements from victims Shubhanker Mathur and Jacqueline Wells, who both said they suffered from anxiety following the incident. Kemple said that Mathur, Wells and fellow victims Kendri Salmans and Christopher Adams all agreed with the terms of the plea agreement offering Johnson 42 months in prison.

Martin said she has “really struggled” with sentencing in this case “because of the violence in this,” but ultimately ruled to give Johnson 42 months, or 3.5 years, in prison. The decision was a “downward departure,” as the Kansas Sentencing Guidelines recommend a minimum 55 months in prison for an aggravated robbery conviction. Martin said she based the decision largely on the victims’ approval of the sentence.

Johnson has about 6.5 months of time-served credit. When he is released, he will have to serve 36 months of post-release supervision, or parole. He will also have to register as a violent offender for 15 years after his release.