Army Sgt. Gets Jail Time for Equipment Theft

An Army veteran was sentenced Monday to 45 months in jail, minus 149 days already served, in the reported theft of $279,000 worth of military equipment that was sold over the Internet, reports the Associated Press via MSNBC.com.

Staff Sgt. Arthur O. Smith III, 42, was also ordered at his court martial to forfeit his pay and pay $150,000 in restitution, according to the AP. Smith pleaded guilty to 25 counts of unauthorized sale of government property, in addition to one count of failure to obey an order and one count of obstruction of justice, the AP reports.

Smith and nine other soldiers, who are still being investigated, are accused of stealing military equipment—including tool sets, knives, ammunition and GPS devices—and selling it to Mykel D. Loftus, who then allegedly sold the property on the Web, the AP reports.

Loftus faces charges in federal court of conspiracy to possess stolen government property, according to the AP.

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