Man gets 11 1/2 years for attack on convenience store clerk

A would-be convenience-store robber who attacked a clerk with an oversized ball-peen hammer in February was sentenced Tuesday to 11 1/2 years in prison.

Spokane County Superior Court Judge Robert Austin gave 25-year-old Shaun Webb the minimum standard sentence for his June conviction for first-degree assault. Webb faced a maximum of 15 1/3 years, but Deputy Prosecutor Eugene Cruz called Austin’s decision “a good resolution.”

Wayne E. Howry, a clerk at the Qwik Stop store at 3021 E. Wellesley, suffered a cut on the back of his head when Webb struck him with a 2- to 3-pound hammer. That wound required five stitches, and Howry also needed stitches for a split lip suffered when Webb punched him in the mouth.

Qwik Stop had issued a no-trespassing order against Webb because of a previous incident.

Webb fled when Howry overpowered him and took away his hammer.

At the time of the attack, Webb had recently been released from jail on a previous second-degree assault conviction that resulted in a six-month jail sentence.