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Prison for Virginia man who stole military truck

A Virginia man who stole and damaged a nearly 20-ton military truck worth more than $500,000 was sentenced Friday to nearly two years in prison. Judge Mark Starr sentenced Nathan John Strom, 34, in State District Court in Hibbing. The judge rejec...

Nathan Strom
Nathan Strom

A Virginia man who stole and damaged a nearly 20-ton military truck worth more than $500,000 was sentenced Friday to nearly two years in prison.

Judge Mark Starr sentenced Nathan John Strom, 34, in State District Court in Hibbing. The judge rejected Strom's request to depart from state guidelines, imposing the full 21-month prison term.

Strom pleaded guilty in June to felony theft of a motor vehicle and gross misdemeanor third-degree test refusal, admitting that he was intoxicated when he stole the vehicle and an attached trailer from the Minnesota National Guard Armory in Hibbing on March 14.

According to a criminal complaint, the vehicle was reported stolen from the armory and spotted about 1.5 miles away at McDonald's. Officers arrived in that area and saw it leaving the restaurant and heading east on State Highway 37.

Police tailed the vehicle with lights and sirens activated for about 2.5 miles before it came to a stop just west of Saari Road. According to court documents, during the pursuit, officers noticed the vehicle swerving slightly over the centerline and onto the shoulder at times. The driver waved his hand out the window to indicate the officer should pass him.

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Once stopped, Strom did not immediately exit the vehicle or turn it off, the complaint said. Officers noted Strom had difficulty following commands and seemed to be highly intoxicated.

Strom told officers at the scene and later at the police department that he was attempting to get back into the military, that he was taking the vehicle to a mental health unit and that he was "a highly trained military veteran who should be considered a threat to officers," according to the documents.

The truck is worth $491,382 and the trailer is valued at $58,340; both sustained some damage during the course of the theft and pursuit, police said.

Defense attorney Hannah Forti said Strom has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and borderline schizophrenia and that he has struggled with alcoholism for most of his life.

She asked the court to stay the prison time in favor of probation, with a six-month term at the Northeast Regional Corrections Center, completion of chemical dependency treatment and mental health counseling.

"Mr. Strom has been cooperative and respectful throughout this process," she wrote in a memorandum. "He has been able to identify some of the causes of his use and abuse of alcohol. His use is the driving force behind his criminal conduct. If he is able to remain clean, he is likely not to commit any criminal offenses and not to pose a threat to the public."

St. Louis County prosecutor Jessica Fralich opposed the departure motion, writing that bystanders could have been injured by Strom recklessly driving a 97,000-pound truck at high speeds on busy highway. She said preliminary tests placed his blood-alcohol concentration at 0.20, well in excess of the legal limit of 0.08.

"Mr. Strom has a record that includes crimes of violence, assaultive behaviors and behaviors that endanger the community," Fralich wrote. "He has been afforded multiple opportunities at treatment through probation, (Northeast Regional Corrections Center) and local outreach. However, Mr. Strom continues to violate the laws of the state of Minnesota as well as terms of supervision."

Tom Olsen covers crime and courts and the 8th Congressional District for the Duluth News Tribune since 2013. He is a graduate of the University of Minnesota Duluth and a lifelong resident of the city. Readers can contact Olsen at 218-723-5333 or tolsen@duluthnews.com.

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