Lewis Given Deferred Sentence In Stolen Trailer Case
The case of the stolen campaign trailer was laid to rest Tuesday when a City of Tecumseh employee pleaded no contest to a charge of concealing stolen property and was given a deferred sentence.
The charge against Justin Lewis of Macomb will be dismissed if he successfully completes the five-year deferred sentence, including two years of supervised probation, $1,808 in restitution, 100 hours of community service and some court costs.
District Judge Doug Combs went against the recommendation of District Attorney Richard Smothermon in granting the deferred sentence. Smothermon, who handled Tuesday's appearance himself, said he had, “from day one, recommended a three-year suspended sentence if he would disclose who actually did it.”
The trailer was stolen from the Branson-McKiddy parking lot the night before the 2006 Frontier Days parade. Decorated to look like a covered wagon, it was a well-known part of the campaign by Gary Jones, who ran against Tecumseh's Jeff McMahan for State Auditor & Inspector last year. McMahan defeated Jones, who is now chairman of the state Republican Party.
Tecumseh Police Detective J.R. Kidney and a sheriff's deputy found the trailer on property belonging to Lewis on Nov. 2, six weeks after it disappeared. In an August preliminary hearing, Kidney testified that Lewis wouldn't say who brought the trailer to his property but commented that Kidney was “smart and could figure it out.” Lewis later told Deputy Jim Patten that he “wasn't saying anything else and would take whatever happens to me.”
Shawnee attorney and Tecumseh native Allan Grubb represented Lewis. Grubb said he was pleased the judge rejected Smothermon's recommendation and said the DA “wouldn't negotiate” because of the political ramifications of the case.
Updated: Thursday, December 20, 2007
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