After taking a plea deal in the middle of trial, a 43 year-old man was sentenced to 13 years in prison for victimizing elderly community members.

On two separate occasions, Michael Stevens pushed down women who were entering their homes and stole their purses.

“Mr. Stevens is a predator,” Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Ron Welch said in court. “He’s not a predator in the sense that he picks people of similar shape or size, he picks people who are vulnerable.”

On June 30, 2018, when an elderly woman and her husband had returned home from getting ice cream around 9:50 p.m., the woman was attacked.

The couple parked their car in the carport next to their home, and the woman’s husband unlocked the door and went inside to turn the lights on. As the woman went to enter her home, she felt a presence behind her and turned around to be met face-to-face with a man that ultimately pushed her to the ground, grabbed her pink leather clutch and ran from the home to a vehicle.

Prior to that incident, on June 3, Stevens had committed a similar offense when a woman was dropped off at her home and attempted to go inside.

Stevens approached the woman and asked if she had a cell phone he could borrow. Stating she did not have one, the woman and Stevens appeared to conclude their encounter when Stevens turned around and pushed the woman to the ground.

The woman hit her head on the pavement. Stevens grabbed her purse and attempted to pull a ring off her finger before fleeing the area.

After the first day of trial on Stevens’ case pertaining to the June 30 case, he decided to admit his guilt.

In the June 30 case, Stevens pleaded guilty to one count of robbery, a second-degree felony, one count of theft of less than $1,000 from an elderly victim and theft of a credit card, both felonies of the fifth degree.

In the June 3 case, he pleaded guilty to one count of robbery, a third-degree felony, and one count of theft of less than $1,000, a first-degree misdemeanor.

While requesting that Stevens receive the maximum sentence in his case, Welch reviewed Stevens’ pre-sentence investigation which stated that Stevens dropped out of high school to sell drugs.

“From there, he’s been nothing but a menace to society, committing crime after crime,” Welch said.

Prior to his June attacks, Stevens had attacked a woman in her garage as she was attempting to get her baby out of the car.

“Another cowardly attack on a helpless victim,” Welch said.

Over the course of his adult life, Stevens has spent many years in and out of incarceration for similar offenses to the robberies, trafficking, possession and other charges.

“Mr. Stevens is a parasite. He lives off the vulnerability of others,” Welch said. “He’s contributed nothing to our society except harm, fear and violence.”

To Stevens’ aid, defense attorney Keith Edwards said Stevens begged for the trial to end after hearing one of his victims testify.

“He just wanted to plea in order to make it stop,” Edwards said of Stevens.

While Stevens’ crimes were of violent nature, Edwards said, in Stevens’ mind he wasn’t overtly harming anyone or holding anyone at gunpoint.

“It was never my intention to hurt anyone physically,” Stevens said. “I’m not a violent person.”

Explaining his cocaine addiction, Stevens said he would go on benders where he used cocaine for days at a time and robbed people to fulfill his drug habit — actions he said he’s remorseful for but ones he didn’t commit consciously.

“Don’t minimize this,” Cottrill interjected. “Your selfishness and your addiction, you took out on them.”

Stevens added that he has found God and has made peace with his decisions, although he will still have to pay the price for them, he stated. 

Noting that the offenses in his two cases bring Stevens’ number of felonies up to 10, Cottrill explained why he is a dangerous man to society.

“The most vulnerable in our society is who you’re preying on,” Cottrill said to Stevens before imposing a 13 year sentence in his case.

Eight of Stevens’ 13 years are mandatory time. Stevens was also ordered to pay $1,709.18 in restitution.