A repeat felon and one-time bank robber asked for mercy Thursday in Butler County Court, claiming he’s now a reformed family man.

But Judge William Shaffer told the defendant, 52-year-old Burnell Williams, that his prior record had caught up with him. The judge said he had no choice but to sentence Williams within a standard range for his new conviction for stealing the car of a store manager who was attempting to stop him for retail theft.

Williams will serve 2 to 4 years in state prison followed by two years’ probation.

Williams of New Castle was one of three people allegedly attempting to conceal merchandise while in the Rite Aid drugstore on Route 19 in Cranberry Township on Jan. 29, 2013.

According to court records, the three fled the store separately. One left in the car that all three had arrived in. Williams and 24-year-old Melinda L. Pounds of Ellwood City snatched car keys belonging to the drug store manager and drove off in his car, a 1999 Dodge Intrepid. The store manager had dropped the keys while chasing the suspects into the parking lot, according to court records.

Police found the store manager’s vehicle several hours later when it ran out of gas blocks from Williams’ home, according to court records.

Court records say Williams, when questioned by Cranberry Township police, acknowledged that he was trying to conceal property in the Rite Aid but discarded the items before fleeing.

Williams, who alleges he is innocent of stealing the car, had a jury trial in December before Shaffer and was found guilty of felony counts of conspiracy, theft and receiving stolen property.

In sentence court Thursday, Williams again asserted his innocence and said he regretted not taking the witness stand in his own behalf.

Court officials described Williams as a repeat felon with robbery-related convictions in Pittsburgh in 1990 and 1982. However, no information was immediately available about those cases.

“I can’t change my past,” Williams told the judge. “I robbed banks and did a whole bunch of things.”

Williams then added that he’s changed in the past 15 years, becoming a family man. He said he has a 9-year-old son and his fiancee, who was in the court room, is pregnant.

“I’m really trying to do things right now,” he said. “I’m looking for a little leniency here. I’m trying to raise my kids and do the right thing.”

The judge said he is bound by the rules of the state in reference to using prior records to calculate sentences.

“Your past is what it is,” the judge said.

Williams’ defense attorney Joseph Smith said he will appeal the verdict. The defense alleges the weight of the evidence was insufficient to sustain the conviction.

Court records say Pounds in July pleaded guilty to conspiracy and was sentenced to serve 9 to 24 months in prison. As of Thursday, Pounds was an inmate at the state prison in Cambridge Springs.

No information was available about the third person who was inside the drug store when the incident began.