Mashpee man could serve 20 years for Cape Cod ice cream shop robbery

In June 2019, the Barnstable Police Department went to Steve & Sue’s Par-Tee Freeze on a call that three employees who were closing the shop were approached by a masked man who had a small knife .

The business owner, watching through security footage, called 911. The masked man, armed with a knife, backed two of the workers into the store and ordered one of the employees to empty the safe, according to the police.

Now, approximately five years later, a jury on July 15 found Mashpee resident Lawrence Bland guilty for his role in the 2019 assault and robbery, Cape & Islands District Attorney Robert J. Galibois said in a statement.

Bland, 60, was convicted in Barnstable Superior Court on charges including kidnapping, masked and armed robbery, assault and larceny from a building.

Bland was sentenced on Friday to 17 1/2 to 20 years in state prison, followed by 5 years probation upon release.

In 1992, Bland received a 30- to 40-year sentence for robbing elderly residents after breaking into their homes, according to court documents.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Mashpee man could serve 20 years for Cape Cod ice cream shop robbery