WWII Veteran’s Killer Sentenced for 1st Degree Murder
ANOKA, Minn. (AP) — A 28-year-old man has been sentenced to life in prison for fatally beating a 95-year-old Anoka man during a burglary.
Isaiah Montrell Thomas was sentenced Monday after pleading guilty last month to first-degree murder while committing a felony.
Albert Loehlein was killed in November 2016 in his home in Anoka, where he had lived for more than 60 years.
Judge Barry Sullivan heard victim impact statements from six of Loehlein's family members before giving Thomas the mandatory life sentence. Thomas will be eligible for parole after 30 years.
Thomas admitted that he entered Loehlein's home to commit a burglary. He apologized in court to the victim's family.
Authorities say fingerprints in the victim's blood-spattered bedroom and a clock recovered from a pawnshop led investigators to Thomas.