Man Admits to Armed Robbery of Gas Station
In May of 2013, Tyler J. Venema applied for a job at a BP gas station near his home. He was not hired, and as a result, he turned to the only option he could see available to him at the time. Armed robbery.
On May 31, 2013, Venema put a mask over his face, took a loaded shotgun and held up the BP station. He pointed the gun into the face of the clerk and demanded all of the money in the register, which she gave him. He took it and fled. But that wasn’t the end of the story. Venema apparently did the same thing at two other BP stations in the area before finally deciding that he had had his revenge.
Venema was arrested in early 2014 for the second and third gas station robberies, charges for which he was convicted and sentenced to prison. But it wasn’t until earlier this year that the prosecutor’s office finally brought charges for the very first robbery.
At his most recent bench trial, Venema explained to the judge that he had had no choice in the matter. He denied being in Bay County at the time of the first robbery happened, and also claimed that he hadn’t seen the video footage that the court had played for him moments earlier. He also claimed that the police had never interviewed him, although there is extensive record of the interview, and even told the judge that he has no idea why he is currently in prison.
At one point on the stand, Venema told the judge explicitly what the sentence should be. “The defendant, Tyler Venema, is found not guilty, because they wouldn’t give him a job and that’s the explanation of defense against these charges,” he insisted, then went on to explain why he had felt that he had no other option. “I was threatened, I was under duress. I thought I was forced or else I would get serious bodily harm or death. The situation did not arise because of the defendant’s thoughts or negligence. I don’t know what else to say to be found not guilty.”
He also frequently refused to answer questions asked by the Prosecutor, or claimed that he didn’t understand what was being asked of him. He contradicted himself, denied information he had already owned up to, and was generally uncooperative during the trial.
At the conclusion of his bench trial, the presiding Judge found him to guilty on all counts. He was charged with two counts of felony firearm, and single counts of armed robbery and carrying a weapon with unlawful intent. On October 2nd he was sentenced to two concurrent terms of 13 to 20 years in prison, and two consecutive terms of two years each.
After his sentence was read out, Venema told the Judge, “Just seek for justice, seek for the case to be dismissed, and seek for the charges to be dropped. I have nothing else to say. Thanks.” But the Judge was having none of it. “I have found you guilty and a sentence is appropriate,” he told Venema.
But Venema just didn’t get it. “The defense, both defenses, were truthful defenses. They wouldn’t give me employment, wouldn’t give me a job. It was a life and death situation, an emergency situation.” But his pleas fell on a deaf ear.
Venema will be serving out the remainder of his previous sentence, in addition to his new sentences in prison. “You’ve got a long time to get your life in order, if you are able to do that,” the Judge told Venema. “It’s certainly possible,” he added, “But you’ve got to start recognizing the reality of what you’ve done here.”