Prosecutor said case would be difficult to try as the victim/witness Monte Syvrud, has passed away.
DILLINGHAM: Vincent Farler, 22, was arrested in February on charges he had forged checks and stolen property from Dillingham resident Monte Syvrud. Syvrud, who was dying of cancer, had hired Farler to install flooring at his Kanakanak Road home beginning late in 2014.
Farler altered nine checks and stole three blank checks from Syvrud, for a total of $1910.00 stolen from Syvrud’s checking account. Syvrud passed away on January 13, and days later his widow called police to report that tools and equipment had been stolen from the shed. Police recovered those items in Farler’s possession. A later investigation found Farler had charged two snowmachine piston kits to Syvrud’s account at the L&M Supplies hardware store in Dillingham.
Farler was charged with 24 counts of felony forgery and one count of second degree theft. As per a deal with the prosecution, Farler pleaded guilty to one count of second degree theft, a class C felony, and had the other charges dismissed. He was sentenced to 18 months in jail, with 13 suspended, leaving five to serve. Farler will owe restitution to the victim’s family and 200 hours of service to the community, and will remain on probation for three years.
Mae Syvrud, Monte’s widow, was tearful as she addressed the court.
“Five months doesn’t seem like very long to be incarcerated for what has happened. What he did was devastating and I’m still having unsettled feelings,” she said.
Assistant District Attorney Duke Circle said the case was “problematic,” and would have been hard to take to trial as the primary witness, Monte Syvrud, was deceased.
Adult Probation Officer Rex Spofford, a close friend of the Syvrud family, briefly addressed the court in that capacity. “In talking with people, I have heard them describe this case as disgusting, deplorable, nauseating, and abominable,” he said.
Farler’s actions were attributed by the attorneys and the judge to a heroin habit.
“This may be Polyanna thinking,” said Judge Pat Douglass, “but maybe this case will set an example to others that there are consequences to drug use.”
Addressing Mr. Farler, Judge Douglass continued: “Your time for hurting yourself and others is over, ok? You picked the most vulnerable person you could, someone who trusted you, and someone who was ill, and that was a terrible thing to do.”
Farler is expected to be released from custody in mid-May.