This article was originally published May 7, 2007.
Kenneth Debutts, a convicted identity thief recently profiled in The News Tribune, earned a 90-day jail sentence Friday.
With credit for 67 days already served, plus time off for good behavior, his stint in the King County Jail is over - but Debutts isn't free yet. His next stop is Nevada, where authorities have filed similar charges against him.
"A Case of Identity, " a News Tribune series published in February, recounted the story of Debutts' flight from Nevada. He used a name stolen from his ex-roommate in Las Vegas, and continued the deception when he moved to Renton. A few weeks after the series appeared, he was arrested.
Debutts made no statement in King County Superior Court on Friday, but Judge Laura Inveen took a moment to lecture him. "This behavior is absolutely outrageous, " the judge said. "This is a person you were living with, you were sharing meals with. It's really beyond my comprehension how a person could feel such lack of empathy, such lack of remorse."
In March, while he was still in jail, Debutts agreed to an interview with The News Tribune.
