The fifth defendant to plead guilty in connection to a 2020 home invasion that resulted in the injury of a woman and the theft of a jewelry-filled safe that once belonged to late Western Kentucky University provost Barbara Burch was sentenced to seven years in prison.

Frank E. “Beau” Leonard, 39, of Franklin, Tenn., was the final co-defendant to have his case resolved, receiving his sentence Monday in Warren Circuit Court after pleading guilty earlier to charges of second-degree burglary by complicity and theft by unlawful taking of property valued at $10,000 or more.

The theft of the safe took place on July 13, 2020, when a group of people posing as delivery drivers forced their way into the Smallhouse Road home where the safe was kept.

A woman in the home, Doreen McCloud, was assaulted and restrained with zip ties, suffering ankle and leg fractures.

The intruders were supplied with weapons and a Wi-Fi signal jammer in an effort to prevent the capture of home surveillance footage.

Leonard, owner and operator of a Franklin, Tennessee, jewelry store, said he traveled to Bowling Green on the day of the incident and parked outside a church near the home to serve as a lookout.

The safe was dollied out of the house and brought to Tennessee, where it was opened and the proceeds split among the co-conspirators.

According to prior court filings, co-defendant Marshall “Sonny” Belew, who operated a jewelry store in Brentwood, Tennessee, helped organize the crew who would invade the home, having received information from Patricia Weisman, a former Burch family friend, about the location of the safe and the home’s security features.

Leonard expressed remorse Monday for his part in the plot, saying that Belew, who he considered a mentor in the jewelry business, urged him to get involved in the crime and assured him the house would be empty and there would be no violence.

Leonard said he attempted numerous times to dissuade Belew from carrying out the burglary and described him as someone who “lost his way.”

“I didn’t do it for money. I just felt pressured. I felt in debt to Sonny,” Leonard said. “Honestly, I didn’t think he would do it … . I justified it and minimized it in my head and let my moral compass slip.”

Court records indicate, and Leonard said at his hearing, that Belew felt he was owed money by the Burch family, with Leonard saying that Belew claimed he had not been paid for jewelry he had made for them and for a jewelry show that took place at the home.

Leonard cooperated with the Bowling Green Police Department after detectives contacted him about the crimes, paid an out-of-court settlement to the Burch estate to resolve a lawsuit and apologized to McCloud and Barbara Burch’s son, Kevin Burch, in a meeting arranged through attorneys.

“It was a very emotional, traumatic kind of meeting, and I think at the end of the day, the plaintiffs in that case got to be heard, got to be respected and got an opportunity to say anything that was on their mind to Mr. Leonard and I think it was very productive,” said attorney Rob Briley, who represented Leonard in the civil case.

McCloud and Kevin Burch did not attend Monday’s hearing due to a scheduling conflict, Warren County Commonwealth’s Attorney Kori Beck Bumgarner said.

“I’d do anything to make things right for (McCloud) so she feels safe again,” Leonard said.

The seven-year sentence Leonard received was the shortest among all the co-defendants.

A plea agreement reached earlier this year recommended a 10-year sentence, but attorney Frank Lannom argued that Leonard was less at fault than the other co-defendants and offered the most cooperation with authorities.

“He was a lookout for a backup,” Lannom said of Leonard’s role. “When the crime he committed was made, he did everything you could ask him to do – he voluntarily met with police, he didn’t ask for a deal, he didn’t hold back anything … . Fairness requires a different look at his behavior than the people who committed far more intrusive, far worse acts, who did nothing that showed true remorse.”

Bumgarner said that, after meeting with the victims just ahead of sentencing, they wished to go forward with the 10-year recommendation made in the plea agreement.

She also spoke of the meetings that have taken place between Leonard and the victims.

“While I think they still obviously are unhappy with his ultimate decision to partake in this, I do feel like they feel like he’s done everything after that to answer the questions they had,” Bumgarner said.

With Leonard’s sentencing, he is the last co-defendant to resolve criminal charges in this case.

Javier Nunez and Nicholas Cruz-Palacios, who admitted breaking into the home and taking part in the assault, received 15-year and 10-year sentences, respectively.

Belew and Patricia Weisman were also each sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Jeffery Weisman, Patricia’s husband, was also charged on multiple criminal counts but died by suicide earlier this year.