Hart man pleads guilty to breaking and entering.

Paul Phillips and attorney Ashley Siegel.

Hart man pleads guilty to breaking and entering.

#OceanaCountyCrime

By Allison Scarbrough, Editor.

HART — A 34-year-old Hart man pleaded guilty Monday, March 9, in 27th Circuit Court to breaking and entering a building with intent.

Paul Madison Phillips, of 8808 N. 126th Ave., testified that he used a screw driver to break into a storage shed on East Main Street in the Village of Walkerville, Dec. 30, 2019.

In exchange for his plea, Phillips’ jail time is not to exceed five and a half months, said Oceana County Prosecutor Joseph Bizon. It is at the midpoint of the sentencing guidelines of 0-11 months.

The maximum penalty for the felony conviction is 10 years in prison.

Phillips will likely be placed on probation “in the 18-month to two-year range,” said Judge Robert D. Springstead.

“I was drunk, so I really don’t know why,” Phillips said when asked by the judge why he broke into the shed. “I was acting like a fool.”

Bizon said some items were stolen from the shed.

Phillips’ attorney, Ashley Siegel, made a request for her client’s bond to be reinstated, but the judge denied it.

Sentencing is set for May 4 at 8:30 a.m.

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