Men looting tornado site plead guilty to trespassing
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It?s the first case of looting to come through the local court system since the tornados struck Warren County on April 7.
David Matthew Hill and Bill Swaner III entered guilty pleas before General Sessions Judge Larry Ross and were given 10 days in jail. Swaner also entered a guilty plea to the charge of criminal impersonation for giving officers a fake name.
?I think this is despicable,? Judge Ross told the two defendants. ?After someone has been killed and their property destroyed, you go there and try to take their stuff.?
According to arrest warrants, Hill and Swaner were on property in the Dibrell area where Barbara Alverson lost her life. They crossed yellow crime scene tape and ignored no trespassing signs. The criminals were in the process of removing a motorcycle from the property when the caretaker arrived and caught them in the act.
When the judge asked why they were taking the motorcycle there was silence. Hill finally said he thought the motorcycle was just ?junk.?
The men were not charged with theft ? only criminal trespassing ? which means the maximum jail time they could receive is 30 days. The defendants told Ross the family wanted them charged with trespassing, not theft.
?You were taking a motorcycle so you should have been charged with something else so we could have done more with this,? said Ross in handing down the sentences.