Rod Shoate, former New England Patriots linebacker,...

Rod Shoate, former New England Patriots linebacker, was given a five-year suspended prison sentence for robbing a Rhode Island gasoline station in March.

Superior Court Judge Joseph Rodgers also sentenced Shoate, 34, of Pawtucket, R.I., to 10 years’ probation, with the condition that he continue drug counseling.

Shoate, however, still faces charges on the alleged robbery of a convenience store hours before the service station robbery, and allegedly assaulting his estranged wife in July.

Shoate, an All-American from Oklahoma, played for the Patriots from 1975 to 1982, when New England traded him to the Chicago Bears.

Chicago released him before the 1982 season, and Shoate played for two years with the New Jersey Generals and Memphis Showboats of the now-defunct United States Football League before retiring.