An Altoona man received a new chance at life this week when a Blair County judge reduced his prison sentence for a 2015 robbery from a minimum of 15 years to three years.

But, before being resentenced Thursday, Nicholas Todd Kruge, 32, said he wanted to apologize to the robbery victims.

“I never had the opportunity to publicly apologize, at least as publicly as I can, for all the pain and hurt I caused,” Kruge told Blair County Common Pleas Court Judge Timothy M. Sullivan.

“I hope the victims,” who were not in the courtroom but were represented by Blair County Assistant District Attorney Derek Elensky, “don’t have to remember that day,” he said, but he realized that may not be the case.

He also apologized to Judge Sullivan for the long, drawn out legal process that his case caused the court.

Kruge was convicted by a jury in late 2016 of entering FeFi’s grocery store on the 1200 block of Second Ave., and demanding money.

When sentenced by Sulllivan in 2017, he said he used a toy gun in the robbery.

He pointed the gun at the store clerk and at a customer who entered the store and he threatened them.

After receiving money, Kruge left the store and entered a get-away car driven by an accomplice.

Prior to trial, the prosecution offered Kruge a plea deal of three to 10 years, the same as the sentence imposed on the accomplice.

He chose to go before a jury and was convicted of robbery and related offenses, but when Kruge appeared for sentencing, Elensky informed the defense that he was seeking a 10-year mandatory minimum for Kruge because the defendant had a prior conviction for a crime of violence.

The judge imposed a sentence of 15 to 30 years in a state correctional facility and Kruge is now incarcerated at SCI Phoenix.

Kruge’s trial attorney was stunned by the sentence because he didn’t realize his client faced a mandatory 10 years for the robbery.

That began a long court battle led by Kruge’s newly-appointed appeals attorney, Paul Puskar of Hollidaysburg, who argued trial counsel was “ineffective” for not advising Kruge that if convicted, he faced at least 10 years and possibly more, behind bars.

Judge Sullivan held two hearings and eventually ruled that Kruge’s constitutional right to a fair trial had been breached.

Kruge testified during the hearings, “The first I heard about it (the mandatory) was the morning of sentencing as I was walking upstairs to be sentenced.”

The judge vacated the guilty verdicts for robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery after determining that Kruge would have accepted the proposed plea agreement for a three-year minimum had he known he was facing a 10-year mandatory.

The prosecution appealed to the Pennsylvania Superior Court, arguing Kruge knew that he faced a long time in jail if he went to a jury trial and was convicted, but the state appeals court, in a ruling on

Feb. 19, upheld Judge Sullivan’s decision to vacate the guilty verdicts and resentence Kruge according to the plea agreement of three to 10 years.

When it came time for the resentencing Thursday, the prosecution initially wanted Kruge sentenced for robbery and conspiracy, which had been vacated by Sullivan. The judge rejected that proposal.

Puskar argued that Kruge’s proposed new sentence was not really a bargain. He pointed out Kruge has already served four years and nine months behind bars when in reality he should have been eligible for parole after only three years.

Judge Sullivan imposed the new sentence of three to 10 years on charges of simple assault, terroristic threats and theft, which had not been vacated, thereby making Kruge eligible for parole.

But, according to Kruge, he won’t be paroled until he has completed several prerelease programs.

His eventual release will have to be granted by the Pennsylvania Board of Parole and Probation, he said.

After the sentence, Elensky emphasized that while Kruge’s constitutional rights had been violated, the prosecution “did nothing wrong.” He said he respects the court’s ruling in the case.

Puskar explained the defense was not charging prosecutorial misconduct. He said the case came down to Kruge’s contention that had he known about the pending mandatory sentence, he would have accepted the prosecution’s initial plea offer.

The defense attorney said Sullivan had made a “good, well-rounded decision. We’re happy.”

Judge Sullivan stated, “I know it has been a long, drawn out ordeal. I hope this brings finality.”