One of four Backdoor Bandits who participated in a series of armed holdups at restaurants and other businesses in Ocean Beach, La Jolla and Clairemont last year was sentenced Dec. 22 to 14 years and four months in state prison. Ryan Patrick Churchill, 23, pleaded guilty last month to 13 charges, including robbery and attempted robbery. Deputy District Attorney Jalyn Wang said 13 businesses were robbed by the four between May and August of 2013, including Roberto’s Taco Shop on Voltaire Street in Ocean Beach, Rigoberto’s Taco Shop on La Jolla Boulevard near Westbourne Street and the El Cotixan restaurant on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard. Twenty-seven people were victimized, Wang said. Judge Charles Rogers ordered restitution to a number of victims totaling about $5,000. The judge empathized with the victims, noting their vulnerability as they were being robbed. “You wonder if you’re going to die even if you comply with the robber’s demands,” the judge said. Churchill – who had dreams of being a lifeguard or a firefighter – said he was desperate for money when he took part in the holdups. “I feel absolutely horrible and disgusted with myself,” Churchill told the judge as he apologized to the victims. “It’s not the way I want to live.” Churchill, Duran Caldwell, Thomas Abel Nelson and a 17-year-old boy were arrested in August of 2013 during a traffic stop not far from the scene of an armed robbery at a Smashburger restaurant on Prospect Avenue in La Jolla. Inside the defendants’ car, officers found dark clothing, a black semi-automatic replica handgun, a backpack filled with cash and a cashbox from Smashburger. All defendants in the case have pleaded guilty. Caldwell was sentenced to eight years in prison. Nelson and the juvenile are scheduled to be sentenced Thursday, Jan. 8. The Backdoor Bandits moniker stemmed from the way the thieves almost always entered businesses through a rear door, according to San Diego police. — City News Service