Ironwood man gets prison for probation violation

BESSEMER — An Ironwood man was sentenced to prison Thursday in Gogebic County Circuit Court for violating the terms of his probation.

Thomas Raymond, 35, of Ironwood, was sentenced to 36 to 60 months in prison by Judge Michael Pope. Gogebic County Prosecutor Nick Jacobs said this exceeded the recommended sentence in the pre-sentencing report, which recommended a minimum term of between nine and 23 months.

“In imposing the prison sentence the judge indicated to the defendant that it was obvious he cannot do well on supervision, or in the community, based on his substance abuse history and defiant behavior,” Jacobs said in a Thursday email to the Daily Globe.

Raymond had originally been sentenced in April to three years probation, and 12 months in jail, for an attempting breaking and entering charge in connection to a July 2014 incident involving a warehouse in Wakefield. According to Jacobs, the original sentence allowed Raymond to be released for the final half of the 12-month sentence, as long as he complied with wearing a tether for GPS monitoring.

Jacobs said Raymond initially violated the rules regarding his tether Sept. 9 after failing to keep it charged, telling officers he lost the charger. He served an additional eight days in jail after he also tested positive for methamphetamine use.

Raymond re-offended on Oct. 11 by cutting off the tether, Jacobs said, and was arrested again. Thursday’s sentence was the result of this Oct. 11 violation.

Raymond received 334 days jail credit for time previously served.

— Richard Jenkins