Four sentenced for slingshot vandalism

Four of the five men known as the "slingshot vandals" were sentenced recently while the fifth goes to trial next week.

Chad Burton of Cape Girardeau pleaded guilty Aug. 23 and was sentenced to two years in jail. That sentence was suspended.

Lawrence F. Kenkel of Cape Girardeau, Jared M. Klein of Thebes, Ill., and Jeffery L. Farris of Olive Branch, Ill., withdrew their original plea of not guilty and instead negotiated a guilty plea. Each was sentenced Sept. 13 to two years of supervised probation. The three have been ordered to pay court costs, pay restitution of $6,054.62 to the victims, perform 60 hours of community service within 90 days, have no contact with each other exception the workplace, write a letter of apology to their victims and obey all laws.

Kenkel, Klein and Farris have paid restitution, according to court records.

The fifth defendant, Ian C. Kroenung of Cape Girardeau, is scheduled for a bench trial Monday.

The five were arrested March 10, accused of breaking windows in businesses, vehicles and homes in Cape Girardeau and Jackson by shooting steel ball bearings with slingshots.

Jackson police said at the time they believed the vandalism went back as far as September of last year.

Cape Girardeau police were able to track the suspects on videotape buying a slingshot and two cases of three-eighths-inch slingshot ammunition at Wal-Mart. About an hour after the sale, calls began coming in about windows being shattered by steel ball bearings.

Steve Gray from Bollinger County was appointed special prosecutor in the case because Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle had a conflict of interest: His car window was one of the ones broken.