A Dickinson man who walked into a Burleigh County bar last year with a shotgun and a mask on has pleaded guilty to attempted robbery.

Arnold Wayne Young, 49, changed his plea to guilty Tuesday, according to Burleigh County State's Attorney Richard Riha. The case had been scheduled to go to trial Thursday. A pre-sentence investigation has been scheduled for Young. The crime is a Class B felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

During the attempted robbery, which took place April 16, Young was confronted in the entry to the Burnt Creek Club by two men who'd noticed the mask and gun. One of the men wrestled away the shotgun, and Young fled, according to a Burleigh County Sheriff's Department report.

The report went on to say that several of the club's patrons chased Young and tackled him. They found a cloth bag containing what appeared to be a bomb, which one of the men threw in the ditch. The Bismarck Police Department bomb squad and the Bismarck Rural Fire Department were called in to deal with the device, which turned out to be nothing more than a mess of duct tape and wires, with no explosive parts. Another imitation bomb was discovered in Young's pickup.

Initially, the charge against Young carried a minimum sentence of four years because a firearm was involved. The charge was since lessened to claim that Young was carrying a shotgun, not a "loaded shotgun," and the minimum mandatory sentence of four years was removed.

(Reach Tony Spilde at 250-8260 or tspilde@ndonline.com.)