By Wayne Chan
MODESTO, CA— Roman Izaiah Croft was sentenced to 18 years in prison for attempted murder by Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Dawna Reeves here late last week, but before he was taken away, the judge gave the man some off-the-record advice.
Craft pleaded to one count of attempted murder for discharging a firearm at someone, two counts of robbery, and one count of attempted robbery.
If parole is violated after his release, Croft will return to prison for an extra year.
Parole is possible, confirmed the prosecution, because there was no premeditation to the attempted murder.
In addition to his sentence, Croft is ordered to relinquish his firearms and is prohibited from owning firearms for the rest of his life. 
Croft accrued strikes for each of his felony counts, so Judge Reeves informed him “in the future if you are convicted of any felony offense, you are going to be subject to double the normal state prison term.”
If Croft ever commits another serious or violent felony, he will serve at least 25 years. “It’s important that you never have another felony conviction,” Judge Reeves warned.
As the sentencing concluded, Judge Reeves announced, “We’re off record,” and added, “Mr. Croft, you are 23 years old. You are going to get out, and you are still going to be a young man.
“When you get to where you’re going, please look for whatever services they have to get you ready for when you get out because if you don’t prepare for getting out while you’re in, you are going to be lost when you get out. And it is going to be so easy to go back to what you were doing… good luck.” 
