MILWAUKEE, April 27 (UPI) -- A Milwaukee judge rejected a plea agreement and sentenced four Democratic Party workers to jail time for slashing tires on 25 Republican vans on Election Day.
The defendants, including the sons of U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Wis., and former acting Milwaukee Mayor Marvin Pratt, were charged with felony property damage in the Nov. 4, 2004, incident because damage and towing costs for the rented get-out-the-vote vans exceeded $2,500.
In January, the four pleaded no contest to misdemeanor property damage charges in an agreement calling for probation. However, Judge Michael Brennan rejected the deal Wednesday after receiving letters from angry citizens, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said.
"They see you tampering with something they consider sacred, and that's the ballot box," Brennan said at the sentencing hearing. "This case has to be an example of what happens if you interfere in voters' rights."
Michael Pratt, 33, and Lewis Caldwell, 30, received six-month sentences, Lavelle Mohammad, 36, five months and Sowande Omokunde, 26, four months. They were fined $1,000 each.
A fifth defendant, Justin Howell, 21, rejected the plea agreement and was acquitted by the jury.
