Coleman Cherry, 36, of Merced, was convicted on Tuesday, Jan. 24, of robbery and sentenced to 17 years in state prison.

Deputy District Attorney Dina Petrushenko said that on April 26, 2015, Cherry entered the Dollar General store in Turlock. He approached the cashier, who was working alone, with a soda and a $10 bill. When the clerk opened the register to complete the sale, Cherry lunged across the counter and began grabbing cash from the register. He struggled with the cashier over the money before fleeing.

Two weeks later, Cherry was identified after he committed a similar offense at a Dollar General store in Ceres.

Cherry also admitted to having been previously convicted of a 2006 robbery that occurred in Turlock for which he was sentenced to prison. That previous conviction qualified under California's "Three Strikes" law to increase his current sentence.

Judge Linda McFadden handed down the sentence.