My Victim Impact Statement:

The judge asked me to state my full name to the court...

I then proceeded to read the following:

On April 4th my world changed. I was working at my job in Springville when he walked in with a gun. At first I thought it was some sick joke, I mean who robs a tanning salon? It became very clear it wasn't a joke when he put the gun in my face. My immediate thoughts were: beg for mercy and maybe even cry, but I realized it was up to me to protect the customers. When I had given him the money from the register he should have been on his way. But no, in his sick, twisted mind it wasn't good enough. He demanded that I get the money out of the safe. I explained that I had no way to open the safe. He quickly became very angry and aimed the gun at my head. I thought he was going to kill me. I begged him to please believe me and to look at the safe. When a person believes they are staring death in the eyes so many things change.

Healing from something like this has been hard. The dark scares me. I must have all of my blinds closed at night. I randomly go into panic when places get too loud or crowded. Falling asleep is a chore. And trusting that I can walk by a stranger without meeting harm no longer exists for me. He took away my peace.

And the worst part is, he seemed to be gaining pleasure from the whole thing. I will never forget his eyes. They told me everything about him. He's a selfish, coward that needs to hide behind a gun. A boy who likes to refer to women as "bitches". A boy who wreaks havoc. I hope he is put away for a very long time, so he cannot do this to anyone else.

I was just a girl working at a job that paid minimum wage. I was trying to pay for MY own life. A life I will never fully have back. And all of this for just $230.