Sentencing in Bodie Flats extortion case this morning

A Minden man, who said he would rather plead guilty to a single count of robbery than leave his fate to a jury and possibly face life in prison, is scheduled to appear in district court this morning for sentencing.

Robert C. Pierce, 33, could be sentenced to 2-15 years in prison or he could receive a suspended sentence for allegedly taking a man out to Bodie Flats on Aug. 3, 2009, threatening him with death, and then stranding him in just his socks and underwear.

At his plea hearing on Oct. 18, Pierce said he was guilty of associating with the sort of people who would commit such a crime.

"What I am guilty of is associating with the wrong people over those months," he told Judge Michael Gibbons. "I will never associate myself with that sort of people again."

Under the deal, the prosecution will drop a charge of kidnapping with a deadly weapon, which could have carried a sentence of 25 years to life.

Pierce was convicted of a similar incident after he pleaded guilty to trying to coerce a man who owed co-defendant Timothy Young for a tattoo into signing over his truck.

That incident occurred on Aug. 25, 2009, and resulted in a prison term for Young. Pierce got a jail term and a suspended prison sentence.

While Gibbons can sentence Pierce to up to 15 years, the District Attorney's Office agreed to recommend a sentence of 2-5 years at this morning's hearing.

Even as he pleaded guilty, Pierce denied he had anything to do with the Aug. 3, 2009, incident that led up to today's sentencing.