Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue.

Please log in, or sign up for a new account to continue reading.

Thank you for reading! We hope that you continue to enjoy our free content.

Mainly clear skies. Low 76F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph..

Mainly clear skies. Low 76F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph.

An Army veteran who was facing up to five years in prison after pleading guilty to participating in the theft of $2.1 million worth of military gear from Fort Hood received a prison sentence plus a hefty restitution payment.

During a remote hearing on Tuesday afternoon, Jessica Elaintrell Smith, 30, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton to 18 months in prison, followed by two years of probation. Tipton ordered that Smith pay nearly $1.3 million as restitution to the U.S. Army. While in prison, she will have to pay $25 per quarter, and then $250 a month once she is released. At a rate of $250 per month, it would take more than 400 years to pay off nearly $1.3 million.

She also will have to pay the U.S. $100 as a “special assessment.”

A co-defendant in the case, Nathan Nichols, who has pleaded guilty and is set to be sentenced in October, also will contribute to paying the restitution amount, Tipton said.

Smith, Nichols and another person were accused of stealing dozens of Army thermal scopes, as well as night vision goggles and other equipment from Fort Hood. The were caught after the high-dollar gear turned up for sale on eBay.

On April 5, Smith pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. As part of a plea agreement, a second count in the indictment was dismissed, according to federal court records.

Smith, who has been incarcerated at the Aransas County Detention Center in Rockport for the past 10 months, was given a chance to speak to the judge before being sentenced.

“I want a better reality,” Smith said. “I want to do better in life and I’ll never be in this situation again.”

She apologized to the government, her Army unit and her family.

“I know my apology does not absolve me, but I will seek forgiveness from everyone involved, and forgiveness from myself,” Smith said.

Smith’s federal public defender also argued for some leniency in the case.

“She got financially desperate because she had two children that she was trying to provide for,” said Lila Michelle Garza with the Federal Public Defender’s Office in Corpus Christi. “She knows she made a mess of things and put her family in even worse straits. She’s trying to make up for the mistakes she made by assisting the government. She’s cooperated from the very beginning.”

A third co-defendant has been charged in the federal conspiracy case. Brandon Dominic Brown, who like Smith was an Army veteran working as a contractor on post, pleaded not-guilty on Nov. 29, 2021. His case is set for a jury trial on Sept. 6, in Tipton’s court.

All three cases are being heard in the Southern District of Texas in Corpus Christi.

According to the U.S. prosecutor, Smith, Brown and Nichols were players in a scheme to steal and then use the internet to sell thermal scopes, night vision goggles and military radios.

“It was a smash-and-grab,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Joel Stacey Dunn, on Tuesday. “They took whatever they could get.”

The Army’s investigation began after it was discovered on June 17, 2021, that the locks had been cut on 17 Conex shipping containers on Fort Hood. An audit showed that 137 items were missing: 72 scopes, 60 radios, 3 night-vision devices and two receiver/transmitters.

An investigator searched the internet to see if he could identify the stolen property advertised for resale. He found a thermal scope for sale on eBay for $4,500, and was able to match the serial number to the Fort Hood theft. The same person, who later was determined to be Nichols, had other items listed for sale that matched the serial numbers of the goods from Fort Hood.

Investigators checked surveillance videos of the access gate, which allegedly showed Smith entering Fort Hood twice on the night of June 16, 2021, and a man whom police said is Brown entering once on June 16 and again on June 17, 2021.

Police used cellphone data to determine that Smith traveled to Nichols’s home in Corpus Christi on June 17, 2021, a few hours after the alleged theft.

Brown told police that he had bolt cutters and met with Smith at the crime scene, but “that he didn’t like the plan ... and left the location,” according to court documents.

Smith, on the other hand, told investigators that it was Brown who entered the yard, broke the locks on the shipping containers and threw the stolen items over the fence to Smith, who then put them in the car for transport to Corpus Christi. Police said that she paid Brown $5,000, for his part in the alleged theft.

March 2, 2021: Investigators say that the conspiracy began when Brandon Dominic Brown informed Jessica Elaintrell Smith that he had access to U.S. Army property at Fort Hood that he could steal without being caught. Smith then allegedly told Brown that she knew someone who would purchase and then sell the stolen items.

June 17, 2021: Locks are found to be cut and multiple items are determined to be missing from Fort Hood. A joint investigation between the U.S. Army Criminal Investigations Division and the Office of Homeland Security Investigations begins.

July 9, 2021: Search warrant conducted at the home of Nathan Nichols in Corpus Christi, where police allegedly recovered more than $1.2 million and stolen Army equipment, some of which was traced back to the June 16, 2021 theft at Fort Hood.

Sept. 9, 2021: Smith is charged in federal court and a warrant for her arrest is issued.

Sept. 15, 2021: Smith is arrested and transported to Nueces County. The same day, Brown is charged in federal court and a warrant for his arrest is issued.

Sept. 17, 2021: Brown is arrested and transported to Nueces County.

Oct. 13, 2021: A federal grand jury hands down two-count indictment against Smith and Brown.

Nov. 23, 2021: A federal grand jury hands down a superseding indictment against Smith and Brown with more detailed allegations.

Nov. 29, 2021: Smith and Brown each waive arraignment and plead not-guilty.

March 31, 2022: Nichols pleads guilty to the federal counts against him.

April 5: Smith pleads guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the U.S.

Aug. 2: Smith is sentenced by U.S. District Judge Drew B. Tipton at the federal courthouse in Corpus Christi.

Sept. 6: Jury trial for Brown set to begin in Tipton’s courtroom.

Oct. 4: Sentencing hearing set for Nichols in the courtroom of U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos in the Southern District of Texas.

An Army veteran who had pleaded not-guilty last year to stealing $2.1 million worth of military gear entered a guilty plea in federal court on…

Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.

Your comment has been submitted.

There was a problem reporting this.

Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.