William Vroman was sentenced today in Kosciusko Circuit Court by Judge Rex Reed to serve four years in the Indiana Department of Corrections, with the final two years suspended and Vroman placed on probation.

He will receive 148 days credit for time already served and must pay fines and court costs. During probation, he must pay an initial fee of $50 and a probation user's fee of $50 monthly.

Reed also ordered Vroman to make restitution to Rice Ford, Warsaw, in the amount of $109,342.73. That amount may change if additional information is presented to the court as to why the amount should be increased or decreased.

The sentence was part of a plea agreement between Vroman and the prosecutor's office. A related charge of auto theft and an unrelated charge of check deception were dismissed as part of the agreement.

Vroman, 33, was the husband of 48-year-old murder victim Kathy Vroman, whose body was found in January near a wooded area in Michigan several days after he reported her missing. She died as a result of two gunshot wounds to the back of her head, and Jason Fisher, 22, of Millersburg, is charged with her murder.

Vroman pleaded guilty to charges of burglary, a Class C felony, on May 29. He was one of three men implicated in a Dec. 2 burglary of Rice Ford in Warsaw, from which more than $100,000 worth of 2001 vehicles were stolen.

Authorities said Kathy Vroman's death may have been related to an auto theft ring in which Fisher; his father, Ralph Freddrick Fisher, 46, of Goshen; Vroman; Lawrence Grant, 29, of Shipshewana; and George W. Aldrich, 28, of Etna Green, were allegedly involved.

After Vroman's sentencing, Kosciusko County Prosecutor Chuck Waggoner said, "This is a good judge, he does good sentences. I respect his opinion. I'm not shocked by it at all." The sentence, Waggoner said, provides jail time, time for Vroman to reconsider his actions and time for him to make restitution.

Waggoner said he expects New York to extradite Vroman for charges in New York, but he didn't know when that might occur. Vroman is charged in New York with larceny. He is accused of stealing at least $2,200 from the Herrings Village Fire Department in upstate New York. Vroman is the former fire chief at the fire department, and his wife was the department secretary.

Reed did not consider the charges in New York as part of Vroman's sentencing because the U.S. Constitution provides that a man is innocent until proven guilty, he said. "And if I'm to believe what you said in your letter," Reed told Vroman, "it's all a matter of a misunderstanding." At this time, the New York charges are just charges, Reed said. Aside from the New York charges, he said, Vroman has no prior criminal history.

Asked if Vroman will be a witness in other cases relating to the burglary of Rice Ford and the murder of Kathy Vroman, Waggoner said, "If he is a witness, I will subpoena him. ... He is a witness."

While sentencing Vroman, Reed said, "I do believe you are remorseful. I do truly believe you regret your part in this event." He also said there were no mitigating or aggravating factors in the case. "The list of aggravating (factors) is nonexistent."

Mike Reed, Vroman's defense attorney, told the court that Vroman cannot express his remorse for the burglary and the loss of his wife. He said Vroman was "probably the next victim in this. He wants to help prosecutors clear up the questions in this. He's willing to accept the part he played in this."

Grant pleaded guilty in May to assisting a criminal, unlawful movement of a body and auto theft. He was sentenced June 7 to 5-1/2 years in prison.

Fisher is awaiting trial Sept. 13 charged with Kathy Vroman's murder. His father, Ralph Fisher, is awaiting trial on a charge of conspiracy to obstruct justice, a Class D felony.

Aldrich remains free on bond on charges of burglary and auto theft. [[In-content Ad]]