DECATUR - Seventeen-year-old Terrell A. Adams was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in prison on his guilty plea last month to one count of armed robbery for the Jan. 30 holdup of the Hard Hat Inn, 1464 E. William St.

Adams was 16, a freshman at Eisenhower High School and on juvenile probation when he held up the tavern three times between Oct. 31, 2005, and Jan. 30, 2006.

Macon County State's Attorney Jack Ahola asked Associate Judge James Coryell to sentence Adams to 20 years in prison, noting, "I'm not sure he can ever be rehabilitated."

Defense attorney Chris Bradley asked for the minimum sentence of six years for the Class X felony, noting that Adams had been a big help at home to his grandmother and, with the exception of the robberies, had followed the rules of his juvenile probation.

In meting out the sentence, Coryell said Adams was on probation and attending intensive probation meetings on Monday evenings, the same night the last of the three robberies occurred.

"I'm not sure how serious he was about those," Coryell said.

His grandmother, Clementine Adams, who lives across the street from the tavern, testified Wednesday that Terrell's mother died of cancer when he was 7. She said he was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in the fourth grade and was placed on medication and in special education classes in school.

Adams also was undergoing anger management counseling at Heritage Behavioral Health Center and the intensive probation group sessions through the Youth Advocate Program at the time he was performing the robberies.

Adams was caught after the last robbery when he ran from the tavern with a patron, Illinois Army National Guard Sgt. Maj. John C. Starbody, 55, and his friend, Dale Grinestaff, 55, the tavern's part-time bartender, in pursuit.

Grinestaff said he did not immediately see the robber, whom he recognized as the same person who had twice previously taken money from the bar and once from his wallet. He said he returned inside the tavern to call police.

When police arrived, Starbody pointed out the area where he had last seen the robber about a block away, and Adams was taken into custody about five minutes after the robbery.

However, the 9 mm handgun he used in the stickups was not recovered.

Ahola said Adams can receive day-for-day good time in prison. With the 360 days he already has served in the county jail, Adams could be out on parole in less than four years.

Ron Ingram can be reached at ringram@herald-review.com or 421-7973.