More prison time for serial robber

The next two decades of Brian Brubaker’s life will be spent behind bars, and possibly more, as sentences accumulate for a string of robberies last summer.

Already sentenced in Greene County to 11 years in prison, a Rockingham County judge Thursday doubled that time for the Crimora man. Brubaker awaits sentencing in Augusta County, Staunton and Charlottesville.

Atop his criminal cases, Brubaker soon will have an Augusta County trial date for a civil lawsuit demanding more than $63,000 for construction work he’s accused of abandoning.

Last June, after a botched robbery attempt at Ladd Convenience, Brubaker went on a stickup spree that he later told an officer was an addiction, according to court testimony. He robbed at knifepoint seven store clerks in four counties before his arrest in the bathroom of a Harrisonburg car dealership.

Brubaker has pleaded guilty to robberies at Ladd; Augusta County Co-op Farm Bureau in Staunton; Cracker Barrel and Tractor Supply Co. in Harrisonburg; Bootville, Crawford Saddlery and Food Lion in Ruckersville; and Greenberry’s Coffee & Tea Company in the Barracks Road Shopping Center in Charlottesville.

Public records and court testimony show Brubaker, a contractor, was dogged by financial problems, but had no history of violent crime.

He filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in December 2002, then pleaded guilty to construction, check and money fraud in 2003.

In October 2007, the Virginia Board for Contractors revoked his license.

According to the civil lawsuit filed June 1 in Augusta County, Brubaker started a home construction project in 2005, then “abandoned work” without repaying the property owner and a materials company.

This year, an engineer found “numerous deficiencies in the construction work performed by Brubaker,” according to the suit.

Joann King is seeking $63,918 in damages, plus legal fees.

Brubaker is being held at Rockingham Regional Jail.