Man paid for car that belonged to another

By Linda Cicoira

A 22-year-old Exmore man illegally arranged to have someone else’s car towed away by a salvage company that paid him $250 and then crushed the vehicle that had been awaiting repair at a local shop in January. The same defendant left his gun in the men’s room at a local grocery store, a few months earlier.

Persell LaFreddie Beckett III, of Tatum Circle, pleaded guilty Monday in Northampton Circuit Court to grand larceny, and misdemeanor charges of destruction of property, and driving without a license. Leaving the gun behind was considered reckless handling of a firearm.

In accordance with a plea agreement, Beckett was given 10 years in prison for theft, with all but time served suspended. Retired Judge Les Lilley also gave Beckett 12-month suspended sentences for each misdemeanor. His license will automatically be suspended for 90 days. Beckett will be on supervised probation for three years and good behavior for 23 years. He was ordered to make restitution of $2,630.

Beckett is not allowed to have contact with the victims, but he was permitted to send a letter of apology to them through his lawyer, Kelly DiCorrado.

“He’s a good kid …,” said DiCorrado. “He has a chance to go in the right direction.” She said the gun was forfeited and there are no firearms in his mother’s home, where he will live.

“No good can come from carrying a gun with you, no matter what anyone says,” the Judge Lilley told Beckett.