Photo: Dane County Sheriff's Office
A 20-year-old man has been sentenced after a two-year spree of recklessly stealing and taking cars for a joyride.
According to the Wisconsin State Journal, Treveon Thurman pleaded guilty in September to charges in eight of 26 felony cases against him. After going to court, he was sentenced to eight years in prison for his crimes in 2019 and 2020.
The eight counts he pleaded guilty to were four counts of operating a motor vehicle without the owner's consent, two counts of taking and driving a motor vehicle without the owner's consent and two counts of second-degree reckless endangerment.
Thurman was sentenced by Circuit Judge Ellen Berz. "Sir, you need to go to prison," Berz told Thurman.
She says Thurman's case was the first outside of homicide or child sexual assault, where she sentenced someone to prison on their first adult conviction.
In statements to Berz, the victims asked that Thurman receive jail time for his crimes. The victims say they lost a feeling of safety and security when their homes were burglarized and their cars were stolen.
Multiple victims spoke out about what they endured since their cars were stolen. "Treveon took something that didn't belong to him and left it destroyed," one woman said.
A man who was in Madison for work was hit by Thurman in a stolen car. Due to the accident, the man now has a metal rod in one of his legs and a lifelong disability. "I fully believe he should spend the next few years thinking it over in prison," the man said. "Maybe use the time to become a productive member of society."
Berz sentenced Thurman to eight years in prison. Once he is released, he will have eight more years of extended supervision.