On Wednesday, January 23, 2002, Associate Circuit Judge Scott Thomsen sentenced George C. Pongrass, 53, to 12 years in prison for the offenses of assault in the second degree and unlawful use of a weapon. He received 7 years for the assault charge and 5 years for the unlawful use of a weapon charge. The judge ruled that the sentences would run consecutively. The sentencing took place in the Bollinger County Courthouse in Marble Hill, on a change of venue from Cape Girardeau County. Pongrass had pled guilty to the offenses on December 19, 2001.

Pongrass was charged with assaulting Stephen Elliot, 48,at 1015 Bloomfield, Apartment 8, in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, on November 2, 2000, by punching and kicking him about the body and inflicting serious physical injury. Elliot suffered a broken arm and other injuries from the attack. During the same attack, Pongrass had flourished a knife at both Elliot and Elliot’s brother, Larry Elliot. Larry Elliot, who received a crushed cheekbone, had escaped during the attack and had called police, who arrived and found Elliot injured and crawling from the apartment. The Elliots told responding police officers that Pongrass and Rusty Glasener, acquaintances of theirs, had been drinking with them and then robbed and assaulted them.

Glasener previously pled guilty to two counts of assault in the second degree and received two seven year sentences, to run concurrently.

Prior to the sentencing on January 23, 2002, Pongrass had filed a motion for leave to withdraw his guilty plea. Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Angel M. Woodruff argued against the motion. Judge Thomsen agreed with the prosecution that no good cause had been shown for the guilty plea to be withdrawn.

After the judge imposed the sentence, Pongrass erupted with a string of profanities. Two Bollinger County Deputy Sheriffs led Pongrass from the courtroom with his legs shacked and his hands cuffed. Pongrass continued to complain loudly about his sentence as he was taken from the courthouse to the jail.

As a defendant who had been to prison at least three times in the past, Pongrass will serve at least 80% of his 12-year sentence.

Pongrass’s criminal history includes convictions from Florida, Ohio, Missouri and Nevada for numerous crimes, including rape, stealing, driving while intoxicated, leaving the scene of an accident, property damage in the first degree, breaking and entering, battery, receiving stolen property and petty larceny.

In asking the judge to impose the 12-year sentence, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Angel M. Woodruff said, "Prisons and long prison sentences were created for people like George Pongrass, who have committed the violent crimes he is charged with."