Soldier confesses in thefts at Fort Lewis

FORT LEWIS, Wash. – A 19-year Army veteran admitted Monday that he stole hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of military supplies.

Staff Sgt. Arthur O. Smith III, 42, was sentenced to 45 months in jail, with credit for 149 days already served at this Army post’s Regional Corrections Facility. Col. Debra Boudreau, the presiding judge at Smith’s court martial, also ordered him to forfeit pay and pay $150,000 in restitution. He’ll also receive a bad conduct discharge.

Smith was charged with 25 counts of unauthorized sale of government property, one count of failure to obey an order and one count of obstruction of justice. He pleaded guilty to all the counts.

He is one of 10 Fort Lewis soldiers accused of stealing government property and selling it to Mykel D. Loftus, a Graham man who then allegedly sold the items online. Loftus has been charged in federal court in Tacoma with conspiracy to possess stolen government property.

Under a plea agreement with prosecutors, Smith’s sentence was reduced from a possible maximum 228 years in exchange for his cooperation in cases involving Loftus.

During questioning, Smith, who was responsible for ordering supplies, said he was introduced to Loftus in 2002 by another soldier.

Smith stole more than $279,900 in government property that included knives, ammunition, global positioning systems, meals-ready-to-eat and other military gear, Capt. Dan Kuecker, a military prosecutor, said Monday during pre-sentencing arguments. Smith then gave the items to Loftus, who paid more than $83,400, the prosecutor said.

Smith’s civilian attorney, Roger Cartwright, acknowledged that there was no explanation for his client’s crimes, but said the soldier had taken responsibility for his actions.