A man who attempted to shoplift merchandise from Sportsman’s Warehouse and threatened an employee with a hatchet in 2018 was sentenced to 14 months in prison on Tuesday.
Pavel Bogatko, 28, was sentenced in Juneau Superior Court to six months for assault and eight months for theft following a guilty plea.
Bogatko was arrested for attempting to shoplift more than $750 in merchandise from the Sportsman’s Warehouse in Nugget Mall, and threatening an employee with a stolen hatchet when confronted as he attempted to leave the premises. The charges of theft in the second degree, a Class C felony, and assault in the fourth degree, a Class A misdemeanor, have a maximum possible sentence of two years combined.
“You were complying pretty well and doing pretty well,” said Judge Amy Mead, who presided over the case, of his release on bail. Bogatko was subsequently re-incarcerated for a conditions violation, and appeared in prison garb during the sentencing. “Fourteen months is mid-high end of what I could sentence.”
Mead mentioned that his reasonably clean criminal history contributed to the lesser sentence, which would have been higher if Bogatko had a prior history of felonies. She mentioned that Bogatko had done well in following the rules and staying on the right side of the law when he had a plan, but that deviating from it had caused him to acquire several small misdemeanors.
“He would be a presumptive felon if he commits a felony in the next 10 years,” Juneau District Attorney Angie Kemp said.
Mead said that Bogatko will like serve roughly two-thirds of his sentence, so long as he remains well behaved while incarcerated.
“This sentence doesn’t envision any suspended time. When you are released, you’re on your own,” Mead said. “There are a lot of resources at the jail. It might take some effort to take advantage of those, but I’d recommend you do.”
For his part, Bogatko expressed his desire to put the incident behind him and build a better future.
“As it was stated, it was an isolated incident. Since then I have pursued applying to go back to college. That’s my next step, is to go back to college, and get my father and I’s business back up,” Bogatko said to Mead. “I just want to go back to college and get my life back together.”
