Cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 67F. Winds light and variable..

Cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 67F. Winds light and variable.

Mark Witcher works hard for his money and that is why he was angered to discover someone had stolen nearly $10,000 worth of metal poles from his property in September 2020.

“It may not seem like a lot to some folks, but it is a lot to me,” the independent contractor testified during a sentencing hearing Aug. 19 for John Dempsey Rector.

On July 6, Rector, 40, pleaded guilty to burglary of an unlocked storage shed on Maple Branch Rd. that occurred on Dec. 9, 2021, and theft of the metal poles on Sept. 25, 2020, from property owned by Witcher.

Rector received a three-year sentence to be served at 30% as a Range 1 offender with a sentencing hearing to be held to determine how that sentence would be served. 

Options included supervised probation, a split confinement combination of time in jail and on probation or to serve the three-year sentence.

During preparation of a pre-sentence report, Rector told a state probation officer that he committed the crimes because he was unemployed and needed the money for his children.

The only felonies on Rector’s record were for theft and evading arrest. There were, however, multiple arrests for driving offenses and two probation violation cases.

Hatch called Sheriff Casey Cox who testified that burglaries and thefts are a major problem in the county with 159 reported in 2020-’21 and 93 reported this year. “These cases continue to rise,” Cox testified.

Witcher told Judge Gary McKenzie his research showed Rector had been arrested 42 times but he had only been prosecuted twice. Witcher continued that the theft of the poles — used to support an overhead covering — was a financial blow to him. 

“If he is in jail, then he is not stealing,” Witcher told the judge. “I guess no one wanted to prosecute him but I work hard for what I have.”

Testimony showed that Rector stole the poles — with a replacement value of $9,500 — and sold them as scrap metal for $60.

Rector made a statement to the court, simply saying, “I made a mistake … I’m asking for forgiveness.”

Hatch argued Rector should be required to serve the full three years of his sentence. Defense attorney James Hargis countered that Rector’s criminal history was mostly driving offenses and that he posed a low risk to offend again.

McKenzie sided with the state and ordered restitution at replacement value of $9,500 and that he served the three-year sentence at 30% as required by law.

Michael Moser may be reached at mmoser@crossville-chronicle.com

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