Posted at: 10/07/2009 6:11 PM | KSAX.com
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Robber Who Used Military as Defense Sentenced

FARGO, N.D. (AP) - A man convicted of robbing a Fargo credit union at gunpoint has been sentenced to less than four years in prison after defense attorneys argued he was suffering from a mental disorder as the result of military service in Iraq.

Denver Lee Tergesen pleaded guilty to bank robbery. Authorities say he held up the First Community Credit Union in December and got away with about $10,000 before he was arrested in a stolen car near Detroit Lakes, Minn.

Federal sentencing guidelines called for a prison term ranging from 46 months to 57 months. U.S. District Judge Ralph Erickson sentenced the 25-year-old Tergesen to a term of 40 months. Erickson also ordered mental health treatment and barred Tergesen from gambling.

Tergesen's attorneys said gambling addiction is a symptom of chronic post traumatic stress disorder. Tergesen spent 14 months of combat duty in Iraq.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)