Jailed on birthday for stealing from  young relative

Spending the morning in handcuffs in front of a judge is not the way most people envision celebrating their 30th birthday.

That was the case for David Monroe, a Niles resident who was sentenced to 15 months probation and 180 days in jail for stealing money from a young girl’s piggy bank.

“You let your drug addiction rob your niece of money so you can shoot it up your arm,” said Berrien County Trial Court Judge Dennis Wiley.

Monroe admitted that his actions were selfish and that he had betrayed his niece’s trust.

“It will take a long time, but hopefully I can get it back,” Monroe said while his mother sat one row behind him crying and holding onto his sister’s arm.

Monroe was on probation for larceny when he committed the crime. He pleaded guilty to one count of larceny in a building.

According to court documents, Monroe gained access to his niece’s piggy bank while living with his sister in June. He stole $30 from the bank.

“You are robbing from a 7-year-old for your own selfish reasons,” Wiley said, adding that Monroe needs to grow a backbone and get over his drug addiction.

Monroe was ordered to repay the $30 in addition to paying more than $700 in court costs and fines.

Also Monday:

• Trenton Willard, 19, of Niles, was sentenced to two years on probation and 90 days in jail on one count of attempted receiving and concealing stolen property. According to court documents, Niles police pulled over Willard at the corner of South Third and Michigan streets in Niles on July 2. Willard was driving a stolen truck he said he received from a person named “Shaggy.” Willard told police Shaggy gave him the truck in the morning and that Shaggy told him to avoid police.

• Kayla Miller, 24, of unknown, was sentenced to 15 months in the Michigan Department Corrections on one count of uttering and publishing and a year in prison on one count of larceny in a building. According to court documents, Miller stole checks from a 66-year-old disabled man and cashed them using her sister’s identity in July.