GOLDEN — A man once in charge of running the downtown Denver jail is heading to a cell of his own after a judge Tuesday sentenced him to jail time and probation in a Jefferson County fraud case.
Jefferson District Court Judge Randall Arp called Michael Than — former second-in-command of the Denver Sheriff Department — an embarrassment to the department. Any other citizen in a similar case would have been sentenced to just probation, Arp said.
But Than is not a normal offender, he said.
“You’ve broken the trust of the community,” Arp said. “This is not just a regular case nor are you a regular citizen.”
Than, 47, was sentenced to two months in the Jefferson County Detention Facility, with work release, and four years of probation. He must report to the jail by 5:30 p.m. Friday.
From 2010 to 2013, Than committed at least 100 acts of theft by stealing boxes containing tax-software programs by hiding them in bags of dog food he purchased at Target stores, said Deputy District Attorney Ben Sollars. During that period, Than netted about $60,000 by selling the software on eBay.
“This case begins and ends with that breach of trust,” Sollars said.
Than, who was in April, accepted a plea agreement Nov. 6 and pleaded guilty to one felony count of filing a false tax return and one misdemeanor count of attempted theft of less than $500.
Sollars said investigators were unable to determine which Target stores Than stole the software from with the exception of one instance in which he was almost caught. In that instance, surveillance videos show Than dropping the software and running out of the store, Sollars said.
Than was the division chief in charge of the Downtown Division until December 2013, when he was .
Than told the judge he spent months searching for the “why” behind his actions and has since started addressing his gambling addiction.
“I know and understand that the public expects loyalty and trust,” Than said. “My actions destroyed that trust.”
Than said he is working to right his wrongs and he knows his actions have ended his career in law enforcement. In no way do his actions “represent or will represent the men and women in uniform,” Than said.
Still, Sollars said Than’s case “speaks largely to punishment,” and he asked the judge to sentence him to some kind of incarceration.
“We’re not here because he kindly came forward and said, ‘I have a gambling problem,’ ” Sollars said. “We’re here because he got caught.”
Jordan Steffen: 303-954-1794, jsteffen@denverpost.com or twitter.com/jsteffendp
