Report: Man who robbed store with daughter gets 94 months

ELLENSBURG, Wash. -- A man shown on videotape holding up a convenience store with his 9-year-old daughter at his side has been sentenced to nearly eight years in prison.

A Kittitas County Superior Court jury convicted Robert Daniel Webb, 42, of Everett in July of first-degree robbery and first-degree reckless endangerment.

Webb was sentenced to 94 months on Monday, according to a report by the Daily Record of Ellensburg.

The case stems from a holdup at the Arco AM/PM store in Thorp, west of Ellensburg, on March 31. A widely publicized surveillance videotape showed the robber accompanied by a young girl and saying he needed money for his daughter. He got about $200.

In court Webb said he was drunk at the time.

Webb sobbed as his friend and Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor told the jury about the night Webb showed up drunk on his doorstep, babbling about a robbery.

"He walked in the house, fell to his knees and starting crying uncontrollably," said Jim Bjorklund. "He grabbed my leg. I've never seen anyone that broken down in my life."

Defense lawyers argued unsuccessfully that Webb should not be convicted of first-degree robbery because he used a toy gun that was painted black. Prosecutors told the jury it only had to "appear to be a firearm" for a conviction.

Webb's 9-year-old daughter, Meadow Webb, was not harmed during the incident, and was placed in the care of her mother.