This past Friday morning, a man involved in five burglaries spanning from Derry and Londonderry to Auburn was sentenced to five months in jail. After the sentencing, he was free to go, as he’d already spent five months in jail awaiting trial. The judge who gave the sentence was not happy about it, and he made a statement worth the public’s notice.

The short sentence was requested by prosecutors. They had initially charged the man, Robert Romano, 23, of Derry, with five counts of felony buglary. But in exchange for a lighter sentence, Romano agreed to lead them to an accomplice, Joseph O’Hara, 23, of Derry. O’Hara pleaded guilty to three felony burglary charges and still faces others. It’s good that he’s behind bars. But did the price of nabbing him have to be letting his partner walk?

“I am wondering how seriously we take burglary cases in this country,” Judge John Lewis said in court on Friday. “I’ve been rejecting a number of dispositions of late. I am thinking the penalties are not harsh enough. Here we are describing a ring of burglaries creating havoc in our communities.”

Romano provided details about five burglaries and was connected to some of the stolen merchandise. That he was convicted only of misdemeanor trespassing, and served only a few months in jail for it, is hard to justify even considering the cooperation that led to the conviction of his partner.

Judge Lewis was right to raise an alarm about these plea deals. Burglary is a serious crime, and it needs to be treated as such.