A Marietta resident, Scott Thomas Balch, has been sentenced to 63 months in federal prison for his involvement in two robberies and one attempted robbery at convenience stores using a BB airsoft gun. The sentencing was handed down by U.S. District Judge Gregory K. Frizzell and includes three years of supervised release following imprisonment.
According to court documents, Balch, 50, entered a convenience store in October 2020 wearing a mask and brandishing what appeared to be a firearm but was later identified as a BB airsoft pistol. He threatened the clerk and demanded money from the register. Weeks later, he returned to the same store attempting another robbery with the same weapon; after scaring off the employee, surveillance footage captured him taking several scratch-off lottery tickets from behind the counter.
In November 2020, Balch used the same BB airsoft pistol during a robbery at another convenience store where he again demanded cash from an employee who complied with his demands.
Balch has prior convictions totaling more than eleven felonies and three misdemeanors in tribal and state courts. He is identified as a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and will remain in custody until transferred to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.
U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson announced the sentencing, stating: “U.S. District Judge Gregory K. Frizzell sentenced Scott Thomas Balch, 50, to 63 months imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release.”
The investigation involved multiple agencies including the FBI, Tulsa Police Department, and Sand Springs Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Dunn prosecuted the case.
