WüRZBURG, Germany — A military judge Monday gave a two-year prison sentence to a soldier who signed for a fellow soldier’s household goods shipment, then sold, gave away or threw out all the goods.
Pvt. Terrence D. Hayes, 22, of the 1st Battalion, 77th Armor Regiment, pleaded guilty to two counts of stealing private property, one count of stealing military property, one count of forgery and one count of absence without leave.
Capt. Jason Duncan, the co-prosecutor, said the theft occurred when movers accidentally delivered the household goods of another soldier with the same last name to Hayes’ address Nov. 26, 2002.
Hayes signed for the goods, Duncan said, then sold marketable items such as a 25-inch color television and computer equipment. The rest he gave away or threw out.
The two soldiers knew each other, having met during a recently completed deployment to Kosovo.
Hayes also left his unit without permission for 30 days last summer, citing the stress of the pending charges.
In addition to the prison term, the military judge, Lt. Col. Robin Hall, ordered Hayes to forfeit $500 a month in pay during his prison term, then be given a bad-conduct discharge.
Duncan said Hayes had been convicted of theft four times in civilian courts before joining the Army in 2001 but was granted a waiver so he could enlist.
