HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) - A former West Virginia state trooper has been sentenced to 30 days in jail in an arson case involving his mobile home.
Media outlets report 27-year-old Stephen Spencer Gula was sentenced Thursday in Cabell County Circuit Court.
Gula entered a Kennedy plea to a misdemeanor charge of providing false or misleading information to a member of the department of public safety. Under the Kennedy rule, a defendant doesn't admit guilt.
Gula's defense attorney, John Proctor, said there was evidence his client lied about his relationship with a woman involved in the investigation.
Gula originally was charged with first-degree arson and burning insured property. The March 2013 fire at his mobile home in Barboursville occurred less than two weeks after Gula resigned from the State Police.