Guardsman Steals Missile-Firing Simulator as 'Garage Ornament'
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A Florida National Guardsman will face 18 months of probation after pleading guilty to the theft of a Stinger missile-firing simulator that he thought would make a great "garage ornament."
Scott Howarth was sentenced in a Tampa federal court Wednesday to a charge of theft of government property. The 21-year-old took a deal in May.
Howarth took the $37,000 gadget home after it was left behind in his vehicle during training in Fort Stewart, Ga., last October, authorities said.
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Judge Susan Bucklew ordered him to undergo mental health counseling as a condition of his probation.
"I don't think there was any ulterior motive here," Assistant U.S. Attorney Eduardo E. Toro-Font said, according to the Tampa Tribune.
Before being sentenced, Howarth told the judge he had made "a very stupid and foolish mistake."
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Howarth lost his job as a Charlotte County corrections officer after the theft, the paper said. He is training to become an auto painter.