36-year-old Ian Cultrona listens as Tuscarawas County Common Pleas Court Judge Edward O'Farrell sentences him to 11 years in prison followed by five years of parole. He will be eligible for judicial release after three and a half years. (Stacey Carmany, Tusco TV)

NEW PHILADELPHIA (Tusco TV) - A former Dover man found guilty for his role in last year’s robbery turned shooting in Oxford Township has been ordered spend the next 11 years behind bars.

Tuscarawas County Common Pleas Court Judge Edward O’Farrell handed down the sentence Monday against 36-year-old Ian Cultrona after hearing recommendations from attorneys on both sides on what they felt would be an appropriate sentence. A jury found Cultrona guilty of one count of aggravated robbery and three counts of felonious assault with gun specifications, one for each occupant in the SUV that was fired on during the robbery. Prosecutor Ryan Styer said at sentencing that the severity of the crime warranted prison time above and beyond the three-years mandated for the gun charges.

"The sentence that I would ask that you impose is at least eight years on the robbery, now that’s a felony of the first degree and has a potential of up to 11. I would ask that you impose three years on the felonious assault.. and run that consecutive to the eight years on the robbery, and then I would ask that you impose another three years mandatory being consecutive on the gun specifications. That’s a total of 14 years," he said.

Defense Attorney Travis Collins asked the judge add no more than three additional years the mandatory minimum three-year prison term due to his client’s having no previous felony convictions. He said the crime was the direct result of Cultrona’s addiction and would not have occurred if he were sober.

"He had a rough childhood. He’s had a lot of relatives who have died of drug overdoses including his mother and his sister. He did recently split with his wife of many years. My understanding is that when him and his wife split, he kind of went downhill from there, that some of the drug issues spiraled," he said.

Cultrona also spoke out for the first time in the case, saying that the incident had cost him everything, including the opportunity to watch his oldest son graduate. 

"I mean I lost my house, my significant other, my dog, my vehicle. My character has been demolished. I mean, they just ran my character through the mud. That’s not me," he said. "Wrong place, wrong time, wrong people, absolutely. I lost a lot in my life. A lot." 

The judge ultimately sentenced Cultrona to eight years in prison on the robbery charge and five years on the felonious assault counts to be served concurrently after the mandatory three-year term. He will have to serve three and a half years minus 135 days credited for time already served before he's eligible for release. The sentence also includes a mandatory five years of post-release supervision and $1,500 in restitution for damage to the SUV.

TUSCO TV