Press Release
Hay Thief Sentenced to Prison
Woodland, CA – October 30, 2009 - Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig announced that on October 29, 2009 Dale Edward McMihelk was sentenced to four years in prison for stealing over $150,000 in hay from a local farmer in the Yolo County. McMihelk was originally convicted of the crime in February 2008 and placed on probation by Judge David Rosenberg, who ordered McMihelk to pay restitution to the victim in the amount $211,000. Since then, MiMihelk paid only $2800 in payments to the victim, despite the fact that tax records revealed that McMihelk had gross income of $631,000 in 2008. On Thursday, Judge Rosenberg found MiMihelk in violation of his probation and sentenced him to prison.
Ken Gregory, the farmer who was victimized by the defendant’s theft, said the defendant’s prison sentence was bittersweet, in that for the next four years he will not be expecting any restitution payments while MiMihelk is behind bars, but that he wasn’t receiving restitution payments while the defendant was working, either.
Deputy District Attorney Rob Gorman commented, “It is particularly offensive that Mr. McMihelk continued to walk free and cheat the victim of his lawfully entitled restitution for years after his original crimes. The prison sentence in this case finally sends a clear message that serious agricultural crimes will not be ignored or trivialized in our community.”