Maple Grove City Council Member LeAnn Sargent won't appeal a higher sentence she received for exploiting her dying father.
Last month, the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled that the gross misdemeanor sentence she previously received was unjustifiably lenient.
Sargent, who cheated her father out of $100,000, is now likely to get slapped with the original felony plea agreement crafted by the Hennepin County attorney's office — a sentence that would prevent her from serving in public office. She will be resentenced May 14.
She could have appealed her case to the state Supreme Court, but she declined.
Sargent, 64, a council member since 1991, has remained on the council despite strong public pressure to resign. Her term ends Dec. 31, 2016. Over the past months, a small group of residents has quietly held signs during council meetings asking her to step down.
When District Judge Luis Bartolomei sentenced Sargent last year for a gross misdemeanor, he told her it was done in part so she could remain on the council, a position that pays $13,000 a year. Sargent was ordered to pay restitution of nearly $130,000 within a year. She also served two months in the workhouse, followed by two months on home monitoring, missing several council meetings.
Sargent has said she deserved the lighter sentence because she took responsibility for the crime, has no criminal record and was in poor health.
DAVID CHANEN
