A former Forest City police officer is sentenced up to 10 years in prison after being convicted earlier this year of arson and burglary charges. Thirty-five-year-old Thaddeus Ellenbecker was accused of starting a fire that damaged the Forest City Police Department on October 1st of last year and of stealing a police department rifle from the vehicle of another officer in November of 2010.
Winnebago County District Judge DeDra Schroeder found Ellenbecker guilty last month after a bench trial. Schroder handed down a ten-year sentence on each charge, with the sentences to be served concurrently, or at the same time.
By Bob Fisher, KRIB, Mason City