An Atlantic man who arranged to burn down a building he owned was sentenced Monday. Judge James Richardson ordered 48-year-old Jerry Jay Wyman to serve two years of supervised release and to reside at a residential correctional facility during the term of his probation.
He was also instructed to pay $6,000 in fines and court costs. Earlier this fall, Wyman pled guilty to felony charges of conspiracy to commit arson and insurance fraud, and an aggravated misdemeanor charge of fraudulent practices. Wyman, a former Atlantic and Griswold car dealer, was charged in connection with the August 6th fire set at a building he owned in Atlantic.
The judge originally ordered Wyman to be committed to the custody of the director of adult corrections for a term not to exceed five years on each of the charges, but the sentences were suspended however, and he was given probation. Wyman is currently being held in the Cass County Jail.
A second person charged in connection with the incident, 46-year-old Douglas Dean Bates, of Griswold, is scheduled to appear in front of a jury next month. A warrant was also issued for 43-year-old Katrina Sue Bates, of Griswold, but she remains at large.
By Ric Hanson, KJAN, Atlantic