A Wisconsin man was sentenced to more than seven years in prison for a police pursuit crash following a Marshalls robbery.

It would have been just a misdemeanor case of theft but the man led police in a chase that ended with a crash.

The man apologized to the court saying that he wants the world to know the crime was a desperate act.

“It was the mindset of losing my kids, and thinking about what their mother was going through, that’s the reason why I did what I did,” Takorey Phillips said.

Phillips was in court for recklessly endangering the safety of others and fleeing officers. While trying to get past police, authorities said Phillips nearly struck an officer.

During the time of the chase, Phillips has his one-year-old child in the car. The child was not hurt in the crash.

‘The situation I put myself in I apologize for it, I know it was wrong. It was just the mindset of what my family was going through.’

And while he may be sorry, the judge said a message needs to be sent.

‘You’ve been focused on stealing, instead of getting a job and working, and setting a good example for these young kids who you had a great opportunity with. And instead, here we are,” Judge Steven Cain said.