BRIDGETON — A Vineland man was sentenced in Superior Court on Friday to 10 years in state prison for the Christmas armed robbery of a CVS store in 2010.
Steven Brizak, 32, was sentenced under the state’s No Early Release Act, meaning he must serve 8 years and 6 months of his state prison sentence before being eligible for parole, Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae said in a statement.
The sentence imposed in the Cumberland County courthouse by Superior Court Judge Darrell Fineman also requires Brizak to serve five years probation after being released from state prison, she said.
A jury, after deliberating for two-and-a-half hours on Jan. 10, found Brizak guilty on charges of robbery, theft and possession of an imitation firearm, Webb-McRae said. Penalties imposed on the theft and firearm charges will run concurrent with the penalty imposed on the robbery offense, she said.
According to Webb-McRae, Brizak entered the CVS near Main Road and Chestnut Avenue on Christmas and demanded pain killers from the pharmacy’s technician. Brizak had what the technician believed to be a silver handgun, she said. Brizak fled the scene, and the handgun found in a nearby wooded area turned out to be a starter’s pistol, Webb-McRae said.
During the subsequent investigation, the pharmacy technician told authorities that she knew Brizak by name because he was a store customer, the prosecutor said.
Contact Thomas Barlas:
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