Nathen N. Smith, 28, of Painesville, stole a donation kettle from the Salvation Army on Dec. 17.
As punishment, Cicconetti on Thursday morning sentenced Smith to spend the next 24 hours homeless.
"How despicable is that? To take money from the Salvation Army, who, with that money, help the homeless - help feed the homeless, help clothe the homeless, help find them shelters, keep them out of the cold ... and you're taking money from them," Cicconetti told Smith.
The Painesville Municipal Court judge gave Smith a choice. He could spend 90 days in jail, or he could spend a day without a home.
"I want you to feel what it's like," Cicconetti said. "You're going to leave this courtroom, and you're going to fend for yourself."
Cicconetti told Smith to empty his pockets of everything but his identification, so he would truly know what it's like to have nothing.
"You figure out where you're going to spend the night, you figure out where you're going to eat, and you figure out how you're going to stay warm, like they do," Cicconetti said.
Smith was outfitted with a GPS anklet so Cicconetti would know where he went. Then Probation Officer David Washlock gave him two phone numbers in case of an emergency - his cell number and that of Clerk of Courts Nicholas Cindric. Finally, Cicconetti ordered him to come back at 11 a.m. today, so the judge could make sure he followed instructions.
Smith's mother, Georgette Black, only saw her son briefly after the sentencing. With the court's permission, she gave him a hooded sweatshirt and snow pants. He already had a coat, hat and gloves.
Black was worried her son would not be safe.
"I told him it's going to be one of the coldest nights out there. Right now, it's 10 or 15 degrees," she said.
Black said her son had fallen on hard times before he stole the kettle. In the summer, he was in a car crash. His insurance company refused to fix the car, and Smith did not have the money to fix it himself. He lost his license and then his job, he told Cicconetti.
During the holidays, Smith solicited donations for the Salvation Army in Painesville. On Dec. 17, he rung the bell outside the Big Kmart in Eastlake. Afterward, one of the Salvation Army's drivers took him to his mother's home on Sanders Avenue, Painesville Police Capt. Rick Kline said.
The driver dropped off Smith but then noticed one of the Salvation Army's eight kettles was missing. The driver watched as Smith entered his mother's home with a large bundle shoved under his coat, Kline said. Police arrived, and Smith quickly confessed. He told the officers the money, about $250, was in a barrel in his mother's basement.
Cicconetti said one of the reasons he gave Smith a creative sentence instead of a long jail stint is because all the money was recovered.
Maj. Thomas Hinzman of the Painesville Salvation Army said he was surprised by Cicconetti's sentence.
"I just hope Nathen learns something from it," he said.
Even though the Salvation Army runs a day shelter for the homeless, Smith did not go there Thursday.
But Hinzman said he would have been welcomed if he had.
"It's really cold out there. I can't imagine being outside in the weather we've had. I do feel bad for the guy. He probably figured he needed the money as much as anyone else," he said.
Because of policy at Project Hope, the only homeless shelter in Lake County, Executive Director Judy Burr could not confirm whether Smith was spending the night there.
All of the Painesville shelter's 35 beds were booked Thursday night, but Cicconetti made a special arrangement with Burr so Smith could sleep on the floor if he arrived.
That way, Smith would not take a bed from a person who needed it, Burr said.
If Smith did spend the night at Project Hope, he would have to repay the kindness by doing community service at the shelter.
Cicconetti also sentenced Smith to three days in Lake County Jail. As part of his community control, Cicconetti ordered him to get a full-time job and earn a general equivalency diploma.
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