HASTINGS, Minn. - A South St. Paul man will serve a sentence of nearly 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to a number of crimes, including stealing money donated to his injured nephew.
Prosecutors say 44-year-old Jeffrey Allen Stewart admitted to three felony counts, including one of theft by swindle. Stewart was accused of taking $2,500 meant for his nephew Antoine Willis.
The 19-year-old Willis suffered serious burns after being doused with lighter fluid and set on fire by his mother's boyfriend in July of 2011. Jeffery Stewart, the brother of Willis's mother Jodi Stewart, set up accounts to help pay the teen's medical bills but instead, used the money for himself.
Jodi Stewart was also accused of theft by swindle, and pleaded guilty last November. She was sentenced to 60 days in jail and five years probation.
Besides the count of theft by swindle, Jeffrey Stewart pleaded guilty to assaulting two men with a CO2 gun and burglarizing a home in Inver Grove Heights. He was sentenced by Judge Erica MacDonald as a career criminal.
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