A former employee of Olivia’s in the Village was sentenced to a year in prison Monday for receiving stolen property in connection with the theft of $1,000 from the restaurant’s owner last year. Robert Travis Carpenter of Mathews, was initially charged with grand larceny but the charge was amended to receiving stolen property in an August plea agreement.

Carpenter was granted a request to remain free on bond during the August proceedings but he was taken into custody at the end of the hearing for a York County probation violation. On Monday, defense attorney Lawrence Woodward of Virginia Beach requested a suspended sentence for his client, saying Carpenter had been in jail for four months and had subsequently lost the business he and his wife were running.

In his own defense, Carpenter apologized for the decisions he has made and promised his future actions would show he has changed for the better. Online court records indicate Carpenter has a forgery conviction in Gloucester and convictions for forgery and grand larceny in York County.

Gloucester Commonwealth’s Attorney Robert D. Hicks sought an active sentence for the defendant, saying, "We tried suspended sentences with him before. This is his fourth felony." Gloucester Circuit Court Judge William H. Shaw III agreed with Hicks. "You have a lot of potential, Mr. Carpenter," Shaw said before pronouncing the sentence. "I’ve never understood why you do what you do, but enough’s enough." Shaw sentenced Carpenter to 10 years incarceration with nine suspended and ordered him to pay $500 in restitution to Olivia’s owner Gary Ward. Carpenter was also granted credit for time served.

The receiving stolen property charge stemmed from a May 2007 incident when Ward locked a money box containing $1,000 in his vehicle parked behind the restaurant. He later discovered the box was gone. Hicks said Carpenter and a juvenile were implicated in the crime, with Carpenter planning the theft and acting as a lookout. He said Carpenter disputed that scenario but admitted he received about half of the proceeds from the theft.