Lima pair get prison for building-site thefts

1/29/2004

VAN WERT, Ohio — Two Lima, Ohio, residents were sentenced yesterday in Van Wert County Common Pleas Court for taking tools from home construction sites in the area during the summer and fall of last year.

The pair recently were sentenced for similar crimes in Allen County.

Judge Charles Steele ordered Walter Stephens, Jr., 38, to serve two consecutive eight-month prison terms on two counts of breaking and entering. The sentences are to be served concurrently with a six-year sentence from Allen County Common Pleas Court. Stephens also was ordered to pay restitution of $12,052.

Deanna Brown, 30, was sentenced to six 11-month prison sentences on breaking and entering convictions. Her sentences are to be served concurrently with each other and concurrently with a four-year, two-month sentence she received in Allen County.

Judge Steele noted during sentencing that Stephens had convictions dating back to 1988 for crimes such as grand larceny, sale of cocaine, forgery, and theft.