A Former U.S. Marine who admitted stealing aluminum helicopter landing pads and other metal items from the Willow Grove Naval Air Station and selling them as scrap metal has been given five years on probation. He must serve the first eight months in confinement, and also pay the government restitution.

30-year-old Sergeant Christopher Cook, who lived just prior to his arrest at the Joint Military Base in Lakehurst, New Jersey, pleaded guilty earlier this year to theft and destruction of government property.  Federal court documents say he stole about 60,000 pounds of metal over a six-month period before the base closed last year and took it to scrap dealers in U-Haul Trucks.

The stolen items were worth more than $377,000, but he sold them for about $50,000 and used the money to pay for personal expenses including travel, entertainment, restaurant meals, clothing and jewelry.