COLDWATER (WKZO-AM) — A Branch County judge has exceeded state sentencing guidelines to give longer terms to a pair of Florida men who got caught installing skimming devices on gasoline pumps last November in Coldwater.
Thirty-eight-year-old William Vergara of Miami and 48-year-old Mario Lorente of Davie both entered guilty pleas to a reduced felony charge of attempted possession of a skimming device. But Judge Bill O’Grady wanted to send a strong message about this type of identity crime and opted to give Vergara 17 months to two and a half years.
Lorente was ordered to spend between 20 and 30 months behind bars.
State sentencing guidelines would have only called for a month each, which would have meant both men would have been released for time already served. The judge decided to let the Michigan Department of Corrections review applications for Vergara and Lorente to take part in the department’s boot camp program.
The electronic devices are designed to steal credit and ATM card information from gas station customers.
– WTVB’s Jim Measel contributed to this story.
