Prosecutor Hopes Probation Sentence Will Nail Down Third Defendant

SEBRING - Less than a month after a fellow co-defendant received a three-year prison sentence, Joseph D. Cook, 22, of Avon Park, was sentenced Monday to five years of probation after pleading guilty to charges of attempted burglary and criminal mischief.

Cook, who works at Lowes Home Improvement, broke into a model home located at 3040 Findley Road, on Oct. 20, 2006, reportedly with two other suspects and destroyed the inside of the home with an ax. Cobia General Contracting, which owned the home, estimated the damages at over $70,000.

Cook received a lesser sentence after he was willing cooperate with prosecutors who are seeking charges against his friend and co-defendant Tony Lee Banda, 22, of Avon Park, who may have a trial early next year.

Thomas Alyn Newgent, of Avon Park, the other co-defendant in the burglary, was sentenced in November to three years in prison and five years of probation for charges of the burglary of a structure causing damage over $10,000 and criminal mischief.

Newgent, 19, entered a no-contest plea to his charges before his sentencing, and unlike Cook, he reportedly would not cooperate with prosecutors who were hoping he would testify against Banda.

Prosecutor Richard Castillo said that he probably would have been willing to accept a reduced sentence for Newgent, similar to the sentence that Cook received, had he cooperated during Banda's trial.

Because of Newgent's unwillingness to cooperate, Castillo said that the state's case against Banda is up in the air, although according to the Highlands Courthouse Web site he has a jury trial status conference scheduled for Jan. 2, 2008.

According to Highlands County Sheriff's Office records, authorities were able to track the other suspects after they located fresh paint scattered with shoe impressions throughout the home which had not dried. Authorities used a K-9 dog to track the wet-paint smell, which led them to a residence at 3109 Exeter Road where they spotted Newgent with the other suspects.

According to reports, Newgent told authorities that he was "bored" and had nothing else to do so he and the other suspects decided to cause the damage to the home.

Cook will still have to appear in court during a date that will be decided in the future for a restitution hearing.

Judge Peter Estrada had concerns before he handed down Cook's sentence because of the disparities between the five-year probationary sentence and the length of Newgent's sentence, but Castillo made the recommendation because of Cook's willingness to cooperate.

Estrada stressed to Cook that he could receive a sentence similar to Newgent in the future if he were to violate the terms of his probation.

During a recent interview about model home vandalism, executive officer for the Highlands County Builders Association Al Moretz said that the Cobia burglary was "one of the most despicable acts of vandalism" he'd ever heard about.