Leader Photo by Tim Ryan Darrin H. Church, left, seated next to his attorney, Steven Weerts, listens as his sentence for robbing the CoVantage Credit Union last year is handed down in Shawano-Menominee County Circuit Court on Wednesday.
A Shawano man convicted of robbing the CoVantage Credit Union last year was sentenced Wednesday to five years in prison and another 10 years extended supervision.
Darrin H. Church, 48, pleaded no contest in March to charges of using the threat of force to rob the CoVantage Credit Union at 911 E. Green Bay St., Shawano, and attempting to rob Cash Tyme at 705 E. Green Bay St.
Church also pleaded no contest to several misdemeanor counts in two other cases, including issuing worthless checks, bail jumping and defrauding a taxicab driver.
A few hours before the CoVantage robbery, Church took a City Cab to Bonduel and back, then refused to pay the $40 fare.
According to the criminal complaint, Church walked into the CoVantage Credit Union just after 3:30 p.m. April 8, 2013, and passed a note to the teller demanding money.
Shortly before the CoVantage robbery, he passed a similar note to a teller at Cash Tyme, then told the teller it was only a joke. Earlier in the day he visited another bank, where he also wrote a robbery note but didn’t use it.
Church made off with more than $6,000 in cash from CoVantage but was arrested a short time later. The money was recovered. Church was a customer of the credit union, according to the criminal complaint.
“Maybe not the the most intelligent action of committing a crime,” District Attorney Greg Parker said.
However, Parker said, Church showed a “level of sophistication” in the way he cased the financial institutions before robbing CoVantage.
Parker also outlined Church’s previous criminal record, which included burglary, disorderly conduct, possession of a firearm, issuing worthless checks and a conviction in federal court of making false and fraudulent statements.
Parker also emphasized a doctor’s evaluation of Church calling into question initial claims of incompetency.
Church was initially found to be not competent to stand trial after a court hearing in June 2013, but it was also determined he could become competent if treated.
He was ordered held for treatment and incarcerated at the Mendota Mental Health Institute until a November court hearing, at which he was found to be competent.
Parker said the doctor’s report concluded that Church had been faking his incompetency. He said it showed a pattern of manipulation.
“He is an opportunist,” Parker said. “He is a thief. He is a dishonest person.”
Parker’s recommended sentence was the same as imposed by the court Wednesday.
Defense attorney Steven Weerts had requested probation for Church, calling the time he has spent been in custody since his arrest in April 2013 adequate punishment.
Weerts cited Church’s mental and medical problems, including neurological damage from muscular sclerosis, as factors in Church’s crimes.
“We see a lot of problems here and probably reasons for his behavior,” Weerts said.
Church also cited his confused mental state in his statement to the court.
“I just want to apologize for being here,” he said. “It’s not me, to do a thing like this.”
In passing sentence, Judge William Kussel Jr. said there was a “pattern of dishonesty” in Church’s behavior.
He noted that Church performed poorly on memory tests when being evaluated for competency but had no memory problems otherwise.
“Muscular sclerosis can affect memory, but it can’t affect it in a selective manner,” Kussel said.