A judge has ended the probation for Curtis Douglas Beeman, who pleaded guilty two years ago to a variety of crimes including theft, and sent Beeman off to prison.
At least two victims, who have not been getting restitution for lost possessions, are pleased with the judge's ruling.
"I'm happy that we finally got a little bit of justice," Sarah Hancock told the Deseret News.
Her husband, Iraq war veteran Jay Hancock, was one of six people whose Layton storage lockers were broken into by Beeman, 32, in 2007. What wasn't stolen was trashed beyond saving.
Beeman, 32, pleaded guilty to theft and attempted possession of an explosive device and, in a separate case, a charge of forgery. All were third-degree felonies that carry a potential prison term of up to five years behind bars.
In return for the guilty pleas, various other felony charges were dismissed as part of plea bargains.
Two years ago, Hancock had moved his things from his apartment into a Layton storage facility in preparation for being deployed to Iraq with the National Guard. Hancock, 30, lost many practical items including furniture, a computer, a Yamaha motorcycle, cooking utensils and clothes. But even worse, Beeman stole sentimental possessions such as Hancock's grandfather's World War II Marine Corps medals, an heirloom quilt, school yearbooks and irreplaceable family pictures.
Beeman pleaded guilty to stealing from Hancock and the other five people, as well as pleading guilty to the forgery and explosive device charges. Court records showed that Beeman's prison time was suspended, although he spent about 90 days in jail and was released to a secure halfway house for a time.
Beeman was ordered to pay restitution to victims in the theft case of $32,625 — with $10,250 of that earmarked for Hancock.
What nettled Jay and Sarah Hancock was the fact that Beeman's restitution checks of $5 here and $7 there eventually stopped completely. Jay Hancock had been honorably discharged from the military, and the newlyweds havebeen busy establishing a household, basically from scratch.
While Jay Hancock's family memorabilia can never be replaced, the cash from restitution payments would be useful to buy the basics for a young couple just starting out.
There is also the principle behind the idea that someone who steals should be made to repay the victims, according to the Hancocks.
Second District Judge Jon Memmott on Monday revoked Beeman's probation and sent Beeman to prison. All the terms will run concurrently so he faces up to five years in prison.
"I feel like we've had two small victories," Sarah Hancock said.
The specific reasons for sending Beeman to prison aren't known, but prosecutor Brandon Poll said it usually takes more violations than just failing to pay restitution to get probation revoked. In addition, it often is difficult to get much, if any, repayment in such cases.
"It's been a long road, but ultimately prison is where this defendant belongs," Poll said. "A small number of our defendants simply do not do well on probation. We need to house them to keep society safe — and he's one of them."
e-mail: lindat@desnews.com