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n White County Court on Monday afternoon, 49 year old Michael Bassemier of Carmi was sentenced to five years in Illinois Department of Corrections custody for his role in the August burglary of the home of Donna Matz while she attended the funeral of her husband, Hank. Sentencing was carried out by Judge T. Scott Webb.
According to States Attorney Denton Aud, Bassemier will be under mandatory court supervised release for two years following incarceration, and was ordered to pay all fines, fees, costs and assessments. In addition, Bassemier was ordered to make restitution to Donna Matz in the amounts of $4, 930 along with Charla Sullivan and Mark Keller, and $43,804 with Keller.
The White County Sheriff’s Department conducted the investigation.
Aud said of the ruling: “Michael Bassemier, when considering the circumstances of his crime, has appropriately been sentenced to the Illinois Department of Corrections for his role in an abhorrent crime that shocks the conscience. My hope is that the Matz family can finally begin to grieve their loss of Hank. I cannot applaud enough the efforts by White County Sheriff Doug Maier and his department, all of the members of the community that came forward with information, my staff, and the Matz family and friends themselves, in successfully bringing these individuals to justice.”
