A 19-year Army veteran admitted Monday that he stole hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of military supplies that were later sold online.
Staff Sgt. Arthur O. Smith III, 42, was sentenced to 45 months in jail, with credit for 149 days already served. Col. Debra Boudreau, the presiding judge at Smith’s court martial, also ordered him to forfeit pay and pay $150,000 in restitution. He’ll also receive a bad conduct discharge.
Smith, a former student at the academy for noncommissioned officers, was charged with 25 counts of unauthorized sale of government property, one count of failure to obey an order and one count of obstruction of justice. He pleaded guilty to all the counts.
He is one of 10 Fort Lewis soldiers accused of stealing government property and selling it to Mykel D. Loftus, who then allegedly sold the items online. Loftus has been charged in federal court with conspiracy to possess stolen government property.
Investigations continue regarding the nine other soldiers, Fort Lewis officials said after the sentencing.
Smith stole more than $279,900 in government property that included Gore-Tex jackets and pants, tool sets, knives, ammunition, global positioning systems and meals-ready-to-eat, Capt. Dan Kuecker, a military prosecutor, said Monday. Loftus paid more than $83,400 for the items, the prosecutor said
Under a plea agreement with prosecutors, Smith had his sentence reduced from a possible maximum 228 years in exchange for his cooperation in the cases involving Loftus.