A man who posed as an interested home buyer and then attacked a female real estate agent with a knife and bear spray was sentenced to 16 years in prison on Friday.
Ernest Robert Chrisman, 44, pleaded guilty to attempted aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon, according to a news release from the 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
Chrisman cornered the woman on the second floor of an Aspen Hills condominium on Aug. 4 in Commerce City as she was preparing for an open house. He tried to force her into a closet and asked her to remove a ring, according to previous reports.
She pulled a pistol from an ankle holster and shot at Chrisman just as he sprayed her with bear mace. The shot missed.
The woman was treated at a hospital for her injuries.
“This is going to leave a lasting scar. She was lucky that she wasn’t hurt worse than she was,” Senior Deputy District Attorney Patrick Freeman was quoted as saying in the news release. “This was an incredibly violent and premeditated crime which is reflected in his sentence.”
Freeman told the court that Chrisman planned the robbery because he needed the money, the release said.
Police were able to identify Chrisman because he left behind a brochure about the condominium that had his fingerprints.
