GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) - Three people have been sentenced for their roles in stealing parts of a war memorial honoring a fallen soldier from Cedar Springs.
Michigan National Guard Spc. Timothy Brown, 23, was killed in Iraq on Nov. 4, 2005. Community members raised about $10,000 to build the Operation Iraqi Freedom-Operation Enduring Freedom memorial to help honor him. But in October, a bronze replica rifle, dog tags and a helmet were stolen from the memorial.
A few days after the theft, police arrested three people: David Sommerville, 17; Justin Rossman, 28; and Tracy Coleman, 45. The stolen parts were later recovered.
Kent County Circuit Court Judge Paul Sullivan sentenced Sommerville and Rossman on Tuesday to 240 days in jail and 30 months of probation. The two must also pay $500 each in restitution, WOOD-TV reported. Sommerville was credited 190 days of time served and Rossman 28 days.
Coleman, considered the least involved of the group, was sentenced to one year probation and fined $500 in restitution. He was sentenced to 64 days in jail, but was credited the same number for time served. Coleman’s son Austin, 20, was also charged and will be sentenced next week.
WZZM-TV reported that because of Sommerville’s age and lack of criminal background, he was sentenced under the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act, which allows the expungement of his record if he fulfills the terms of his sentence.
“He’s just a kid, judge,” defense attorney Jonathan Schildgen said. “It was a mistake that he made. He’s a smart kid, but a naive kid. If jail is supposed to teach people not to do things again, I think it’s done that in this case.”
Sommerville, Rossman and Austin Coleman were also charged with breaking into the concession stand at Cedar Springs’ Skinner Field the day before the memorial vandalism.
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