A 40-year-old man was sentenced to life without parole Wednesday for an armed robbery of a St. Helena Island gas station.

On Wednesday afternoon, a jury convicted Terrence Seabrook, of St. Helena Island, of one count of armed robbery for the October 4, 2010, hold-up of Exxon Fast Lane on Sea Island Parkway. During the robbery, Seabrook emerged from the gas station's bathroom wearing a skeleton mask and holding a nickel-plated handgun. He placed the gun to the clerk's chin and stole cash and cigarettes.

Several days later, investigators tracked down a dark-colored SUV matching the one caught on surveillance tape at the gas station, finding Seabrook and his friend inside. During the trial, the vehicle's driver testified that he dropped Seabrook off at the gas station on the night of the robbery.

"When you hear hooves, you think of horses and not zebras," said assistant solicitor Jim Bannon, who prosecuted the case. "In this case, the evidence pointed to a repeat offender. Ultimately, what convicted him was witness testimony from a friend who had dropped him off and the surveillance camera footage. You can see what he was wearing when he got out of the vehicle and you can see he was wearing those same clothes when he committed the robbery."

Seabrook faced a mandatory life without parole sentence because he had previously been convicted of the 1998 armed robbery of a video store, a crime for which he was sentenced to 13 years in prison.

"He had been out of prison for a little over a year and was already back to his old ways," said Bannon, a member of the Career Criminal Prosecution Unit. "He will never get that opportunity again."