The state Superior Court on Tuesday denied the appeal of a Barnesville man who believed his sentence was excessive.

Nicholas J. Garulle, 25, pleaded guilty to receiving stolen property and negotiated an agreement which resulted in 23 months of probation. A year later, that probation was revoked when it was found that he had removed his monitoring bracelet and had heroin in his possession, among other violations.After a Dec. 19, 2013, hearing, Judge Cyrus Palmer Dolbin sentenced Garulle to 24 to 60 months in state prison.Garulle thought that was too severe and appealed. He argued that his punishment "goes against the rehabilitative nature of the sentencing code."In his appeal, Garulle wrote that before he was arrested for violating the terms of his probation, he was "trying to turn myself in to a mental hospital because I have a problem."The problem, he wrote, caused him to cut off his electronic monitor in an attempt to commit suicide, according to the Superior court ruling.But Dolbin defended his sentence."Right now, there's only one feasible disposition for Mr. Garulle, and he's out of control; and the only way to impose that control is to get him into a facility where he can have the proper treatment," the Superior Court ruling quotes the judge as saying.That statement indicated the sentence imposed was aimed at Garulle's rehabilitation, the Superior Court judges wrote.State police at Frackville had charged Garulle on May 29, 2012, with receiving stolen property on March 2, 2012.