The second member of what was informally dubbed the "fruit stand bandits" by law enforcement officials was sentenced Friday to six months in jail following some harsh words from District Court Judge Thomas J. Phillips.

Ronnie C. Korson pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of “breaking and entering of a coin rack” last fall. Phillips, after recalling his recent visit downstate that required car doors to continually be locked, said the actions of Korson go against the grain of a trusting Leelanau County.

“It is part of why this county has the character that it has,” Phillips said. “You violated that trust. I’d like to think in Leelanau County … someone could put out a (farm stand) box …”
Korson apologized for his actions. “That is a nice thing about Leelanau County. I really regret what I did,” he said.

Korson, 22, of 11075 McKeese Rd., Suttons Bay, was sentenced to 180 days in the jail, fined $100, and assessed costs and fees of $395.

He was also ordered to pay $1,829.50 in restitution — part of which will be used to reimburse a farmer in Suttons Bay Township who after having the money box at his farm stand vandalized took matters into his own hands.

The farmer first set up equipment made for hunters to take pictures of game, but found the shots too grainy to positively identify the thieves, said Leelanau deputy prosecutor Doug Donaldson. So the farmer purchased better — and more expensive equipment — which eventually led to positive identifications.

Also convicted in the thefts was Joshua Bailey, 28, whose address was listed at the same McKeese Road address recorded for Korson. Bailey has already served his sentence and been released.

Phillips gave Korson a stiffer sentence than Bailey. “I don’t think (Bailey) was the brains behind this idea,” said Phillips.

Ironically, Korson’s conviction came a day after an obituary was run in the April 24 edition of the Leelanau Enterprise for Sonny Swanson, whose fruit stand was a favorite among Leelanau County visitors and residents. Poor health in recent years had kept Swanson from operating his popular stand off M-22 at the base of Sugar Loaf resort.