MARQUETTE, MI – (Great Lakes Radio News) – An Illinois couple will spend some time behind bars in the Upper Peninsula for not willing to give up everything including the kitchen sink.
A Delta County Circuit Court judge sentenced 47-year olds Donald and Sandra Smith of Round Lake to 45 days in jail for stealing the kitchen appliances and custom-made cabinets from their foreclosed home in Escanaba in the summer of 2011.
The couple was convicted in September of embezzling mortgaged property $1,000 to $20,000. They were facing a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
Prosecutors say Sandra Smith had asked a granite retailer how to remove granite countertops and witness testimony during their trial described the Smiths moving the kitchen cabinets out of the house into a trailer at night after the home’s windows were covered up.
A restitution hearing will be held to determine the amount of money the couple owes the bank.
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