EVERETT — An Everett man faced his punishment surrounded by family and friends.

A judge was told Friday that Timothy Sherlock, 25, was in a bad place when he robbed a Domino’s Pizza in Smokey Point. He was homeless, estranged from his family and using heroin.

In the two years since the robbery, he’s made a complete turnaround, his brother and attorney said.

“I’m proud of the person I have become with the help of my family and church,” Sherlock said.

Sherlock pleaded guilty last month to second-degree robbery. On Friday, Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Millie Judge sentenced him to nine months in jail for the 2011 heist. She agreed to allow the Everett man to do his time in work release.

Sherlock was armed with a switchblade-type knife when he robbed $60 from the restaurant, court papers said. He forced the lone employee to hide out in the restaurant bathroom to give him time to escape.

But Sherlock left behind some clues that eventually were his undoing.

During their investigation, police found a sweatshirt in the woods near the restaurant. The pizza store employee told police the sweatshirt matched the one worn by the robber.

Scientists recovered genetic evidence from the sweatshirt, but there was no match found in the statewide and national criminal DNA databases.

Detectives had received an anonymous tip that Sherlock was behind the heist. They were notified in December 2011 that he was in the Marysville city jail. With the help of jail staff, they collected a plastic spoon-fork hybrid, or spork, Sherlock used.

The spork was sent to the State Patrol crime lab. Tests showed the DNA on the utensil matched samples taken from the sweatshirt.

Sherlock was arrested in May 2012. He reportedly told police he “knew this would catch up” with him, court papers said.

Sherlock didn’t have any prior felony convictions.

Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com.