A 33-year-old man who was beaten with a bedpost while burglarizing the home of former Green Bay Packers running back Noah Herron will spend four years in prison, a Brown County judge ruled Tuesday.
Yeshua Tate, 33, must also spend 15 years on extended supervision after his release.
He was convicted of three counts of burglary, including the burglary of Herron's condo in Howard almost two years ago. Six other counts were dismissed but were considered in sentencing.
Tate and another man, Joel Mullin-Romo, 21, broke into several homes in Howard, Green Bay, Bellevue and De Pere during a three-month period that ended when they entered Herron's home. Herron was home at the time and hid in his bedroom, but when Tate walked in, Herron struck him with a bedpost, knocking him unconscious.
Police arrived in time to arrest Mullin-Romo nearby, and a rescue squad took Tate to a hospital.
In imposing the sentence on Tuesday, Brown County Circuit Judge Kendall Kelley rejected the argument that Tate was already punished for the crimes because of the severity of the beating. Defense lawyer Chris Froelich said Tate had several surgeries, was hospitalized for two months and sustained permanent injuries from the bedpost attack.
Mullin-Romo was sentenced a year ago to three years in prison and 15 years of extended supervision for his part in the crimes.
Kelley ordered Tate to write letters of apology to all the victims and to make restitution of $12,392 to all of them, with or without Mullin-Romo's help.
Kelley said the victims all felt violated, adding that Herron underwent counseling because of the trauma of being forced into a self-defensive violent act.