[April 09, 2012] BRIEF: ATM Robber Sentenced To Four Years Tweet HARTFORD, Apr 09, 2012 (The Hartford Courant - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- A 31-year-old man was sentenced to five years in prison and four years of special parole in Superior Court on Monday for robbing a woman as she deposited money into an ATM in West Hartford last year. In a letter read aloud in by his attorney, Patrick Gagnon, a drug addict who was sober for about three years, said he returned to using drugs after his father was diagnosed with a brain tumor four years ago and died. "I see my incarceration as a blessing, and I know if I was not incarcerated, I would be dead," he said. It was his drug addiction that led him to rob a Bank of America ATM patron on Oct. 12. The woman was counting money that she was about to deposit when Gagnon reached into her car and grabbed $170, police said. He attempted to elude police by running into a nearby wooded area. But police caught up with Gagnon as he trudged through Trout Brook. "Like" Fox CT "Like" Hartford Courant ENTER TO WIN A CAR: The Hartford Courant is giving away a Toyota Prius On Facebook. "Like" our page and enter here. ___ (c)2012 The Hartford Courant (Hartford, Conn.) Visit The Hartford Courant (Hartford, Conn.) at www.courant.com Distributed by MCT Information Services [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]