By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

COLUMBIANA – A 55-year-old Alabaster man will spend the next several months in jail after he pleaded guilty to shooting a victim during a 2014 robbery off Simmsville Road.

Sylvester Rhine, who lists an address on Seventh Place Southeast in Alabaster, pleaded guilty to one felony count of second-degree assault during a Feb. 8 hearing in front of Shelby County Circuit Court Judge Dan Reeves. Through a plea agreement with prosecutors, one count of first-degree robbery against Rhine was dropped.

As a result of his guilty plea, Rhine received a 15-year prison sentence, which was split between two years in the Alabama Penitentiary followed by three years of supervised probation. Rhine received 406 days of jail credit for time he has served in the Shelby County Jail since his Dec. 31, 2014, arrest.

Rhine has three previous adult felony convictions, according to court records.

According to indictments, Rhine shot a victim during a robbery off Fifth Avenue Southeast shortly after 10 a.m. on Dec. 30, 2014. The indictment alleges Rhine stole U.S. currency from the victim and shot the man, causing serious physical injury.

During the Dec. 30 incident, officers arrived on the scene and discovered a shooting occurred, but were unable to locate the victim or the suspect. The victim then appeared at the Shelby Baptist Medical Center emergency room about 20 minutes after the shooting suffering a gunshot wound to the hand, leading to Rhine’s arrest a day later.

In a recommendation to raise the suspect’s bond amount, the District Attorney’s Office wrote Rhine “has a very lengthy record, including multiple prior convictions for violent crimes, drug offenses, property crimes and has also been previously charged with escape in the first degree.”

While on probation, Rhine must avoid initiating contact with the victim, and must take and pass random drug and alcohol screens.