Must pay nearly $12,000 to their victims
By Lindsey Pizzica Rotolo

The five Gilbert High School students involved in the April
16 break-in at the home of Donna and Michael Adams on
Litchfield Road were sentenced on December 11 in Litchfield
Superior Court.

Derek Hunter and Evan Kirkwood, the only two of the group to
actually enter the Adams’ home, received the longest
sentences: one year in prison and five years on probation.
The other three men are currently serving three to six month
prison terms and five years’ probation. They will also take
part in 500 hours of community service and pay restitution
totaling just under $12,000 to the victims of their crimes.
The five young men involved in the crime spree last spring
pleaded guilty on July 24 to burglary and criminal mischief
charges and were sent to jail. The charges were the result
of one night’s criminal activities that began at the
Winchester Lake boat launch and continued into Colebrook,
Norfolk and Winsted. The group smashed several mailboxes,
threw one mailbox into the window of a home and broke into
two homes, including the home on Litchfield Road.
Instead of attending college this year, the Winsted youths
have been serving out their prison time. Two of the young
men planned on attending the University of Connecticut this
fall, one on a full academic scholarship. Another had been
accepted at Norwich University in Vermont and another at
Bryant University in Rhode Island. The men received the
minimum sentence recommended by the state.