PAINESVILLE — A Salvation Army worker who was ordered by a judge to spend a night homeless for stealing a holiday kettle containing about $250 returned to court Friday with red eyes and red cheeks.
Nathen Smith, 28, who was fitted with a GPS device to track his moves, spent Thursday night ducking in and out of government buildings for warmth, including a stop at the Lake County sheriff’s office.
He also walked through a park, but did not go under a bridge where many of Painesville’s homeless sleep, probation supervisor David Washlock said.
“It’s hard to find a spot to go that’s warm, unless you’re inside,” an unshaven Smith told Municipal Judge Michael Cicconetti, who issued the sentence.
Smith worked as a bell ringer for the Salvation Army outside a Kmart store in nearby Eastlake on Dec. 17. Police arrested Smith at his mother’s house after a co-worker reported that one of eight kettles was missing. 

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