A Cape Girardeau man arrested in February for trying to rob a cashier at knife point was sentenced Monday at the Cape Girardeau County Courthouse in Jackson.

According to Jack Koester, assistant prosecutor, Phil Mattingly, 44, who in March entered a guilty plea to first-degree attempted robbery, was sentenced to eight years in the Missouri Department of Corrections by Circuit Court Judge William Syler.

On the night of Feb. 3, Mattingly tried to rob a cashier at Dollar General, 64 S. Plaza Way, with a knife. He fled the scene when another employee returned from a break. When asked at his March arraignment what led him to try to rob the cashier, Mattingly told Syler he was seeking money to buy drugs.

Pertinent address:

100 Court St., Jackson, MO