Leesville man sentenced to 36 months in prison for burglary on Fort Polk military post

LAKE CHARLES, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a Leesville resident was sentenced Thursday to 36 months in prison for burglarizing homes and a truck on the Fort Polk military installation.

Dakota Cole Yarbrough, 22, of Leesville, La., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Patricia Minaldi on one count of simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling. He was also sentenced to three years of supervised release.  According to the March 3, 2016 guilty plea, Yarbrough was driven to the outskirts of the Fort Polk U.S. Army base around 10 p.m. on August 5, 2015. He then illicitly crossed the fence onto the installation.  Once on the base, he illegally entered two residences where families were sleeping and stole personal belongings from the homes.  He also broke into and stole items from a pickup truck. The Vernon Parish Sheriff’s Office found many of the stolen items in Yarbrough’s residence after a search on August 10, 2015.

The Fort Polk Directorate of Emergency Services and the Vernon Parish Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney David C. Joseph prosecuted the case.