By Pamela
Manson
The Salt Lake Tribune
A federal judge on Wednesday was prepared
to place former Deseret Chemical Depot supervisor David James Yarbrough on
probation for falsifying air-quality results. Instead, the judge hit Yarbrough
with a six-month prison sentence after a prosecutor argued that incarceration
was needed to send a message to others who might be tempted to fudge data.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Hirata also argued that Yarbrough's refusal
to take responsibility for his crimes calls for time behind bars, saying
that the defendant could have endangered lives at the depot, where chemical
weapons are being destroyed. "Since his guilty verdict, Mr. Yarbrough has
not expressed any -- not one iota -- of remorse," Hirata said.
U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell agreed and reversed her tentative sentencing
decision, which she had announced at the beginning of a court hearing Wednesday.
Instead, Yarbrough will spend six months behind bars, to be followed by three
years of supervised release. The judge also imposed a $10,000 fine.
"There has to be some sort of deterrent effect," she said.
Yarbrough was found guilty by a federal jury on July 30 of seven counts of
making false statements to a government agency.
He was accused of omitting data or misreporting test numbers, so monitoring
units at the Tooele facility that determine if any toxic gases are being
released into the air falsely appeared to be working.
During his trial, Yarbrough adamantly denied altering data or concealing
test results. He remained defiant after the sentencing.
"I believe the sentence was too harsh and premature due to the complexity
of legal and scientific principles," he said in a handwritten statement.
"Many officials directly related to the court proceedings have admitted confusion
throughout the process."
Yarbrough, 53, who was a civilian employee at the depot for more than 20
years, said he plans to appeal.
The depot is about 40 southwest of Salt Lake City. Under an international
treaty, workers are destroying the nation's stockpile of chemical weapons.
pmanson@sltrib.com