BIDDEFORD — A Biddeford man who served as the getaway driver in a Biddeford robbery more than a year ago was sentenced to 15 years in prison Monday at the U.S. District Court in Portland.

Walter Heathcote, 26, was the last of three men to be sentenced in connection to the armed robbery of the Biddeford Family Dollar store, at 321 Elm St., which took place on Dec. 2, 2013.

On Jan. 16, Ryan Forrest, 28, was sentenced to 10 years and five months in prison for his involvement in the crime. On Feb. 12, Charles Reed III, 40, was sentenced to 16 years in prison for his involvement.

The three men were also ordered to pay $656.80 in restitution to the dollar store, and they will each serve five years of supervised release following the completion of their prison terms.

All three men, who have prior felony convictions, were charged with interference with commerce by robbery and possession of a firearm by a felon. Reed was also charged with carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, as he threatened the dollar store clerk with a rifle durring the robbery.

The trio had shared a Green Street apartment together and were “fellow drug addicts,” according to court documents.

The men made off with $600 cash and cigarettes from the dollar store, but Heathcote, who stayed in the vehicle during the robbery while Forrest and Reed went inside the store, only received $80 of the stolen money, according to court documents. Court documents also state that he was not involved in planning the robbery.

However, as he was considered “an armed career criminal” due to prior convictions, Heathcote was required to serve a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison for the charges, to which he pleaded guilty on Dec. 18, according to a press release issued Tuesday by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

After his arrest, Heathcote told law enforcement that he took part in the robbery in order to “feed his drug addiction, and acknowledged that he had ”˜screwed up’ and that his actions ”˜affected a lot of people,’” court documents state.

Heathcote plans to use the 15 years in prison to further his education and receive treatment for his drug addiction, according to court documents.

The Biddeford Police Department, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation that led to the three mens’ prosecution.

— Staff Writer Angelo J. Verzoni can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 329 or averzoni@journaltribune.com.