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Austin Bercier, Minot, sentenced to four years in prison for armed robbery

Austin James Bercier, 22, Minot, was sentenced on Jan. 17 to 10 years in prison, with a requirement that he serve four years, and three years of supervised probation for hitting a man in the back of the head with a copper pipe and robbing him on July 11, 2019.

The sentence is concurrent with sentences that Bercier is already serving at the North Dakota State Penitentiary in other cases.

Judge Doug Mattson also ordered Bercier to pay $775 in court costs. Restitution in the case is reserved for 90 days. Mattson also ordered Bercier to have no contact with the victim.

According to court documents, Bercier was hiding behind a door and hit the other man in the back of the head with a brown copper pipe when he walked in. Bercier then held the pipe over the victim’s head, threatening to strike him again, and ordered the victim to empty out his pockets. Bercier stole a pack of cigarettes and a black bag containing foreign coins. Bercier had accused the victim of stealing $20 off another man’s dresser a few days before the attack.

Bercier pleaded guilty to Class B felony robbery in the case. The state dismissed a Class C felony aggravated assault charge against Bercier under the terms of a plea deal.

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