Teenager gets 7 years in prison for stealing, crashing Lt. Gov. Kinder's vehicle

The Cape Girardeau man who pleaded guilty to stealing Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder's car was sentenced to seven years in prison Monday.

Jacob Shepard, 18, received a seven-year sentence for stealing a motor vehicle and a concurrent four-year sentence for property damage after stealing Kinder's 2009 Ford Flex and crashing it into a gun store April 25.

Shepard was originally charged with torching the car, but the charge was dropped because of insufficient evidence, Shepard's attorney Scott Reynolds said.

Shepard and Adam D. Cromer, 21, allegedly stole Kinder's 2009 Ford Flex on April 25 and rammed it into a brick wall at Shooters Gun Shop before torching it north of Cape Girardeau city limits on Highway 177. The car was a total loss, Kinder said in April.

Shepard had testified in August that he was under the influence of ecstasy and alcohol when he stole and rammed Kinder's car into the wall. Shepard said he does not remember driving into the wall.

In addition to Monday's sentences, Shepard is on probation for burglary and drug charges in Scott County.

Reynolds had asked Cape Girardeau Circuit Court Judge Benjamin Lewis for a four-year sentence, calling a seven-year sentence "overkill," but Lewis rejected the request, despite acknowledging Shepard's results from the sentencing assessment test.

"The courts don't want to see you throwing your life away," Lewis told Shepard. "But at some point we're not going to be concerned about you; we'll be concerned for public safety."

Before he was sentenced, Shepard apologized to the community and Kinder, who was not in attendance.

Cromer was charged with stealing a motor vehicle, first-degree tampering and second-degree attempted burglary. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and is set to be in court again Oct. 11.

psullivan@semissourian.com

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