Polk County judge sentences Tristan Sillman to four years in prison for the 2025 Ace Hardware break-in, ordering restitution and post-prison supervision.
Dallas, OR. — A Salem man has been sentenced to four years in state prison for breaking into the West Salem Ace Hardware store during an October 2025 burglary that caused significant damage and rattled the small business’s owners.
Tristan Lewis Sillman, 27, received a 48-month prison sentence in Polk County Circuit Court after pleading guilty to First-Degree Burglary, First-Degree Criminal Mischief, and First-Degree Attempted Theft. Judge pro tempore Timothy R. Park also ordered Sillman to serve 36 months of post-prison supervision and pay $1,267.22 in restitution.
According to prosecutors, Salem police officers responded to a burglary-in-progress call on October 29, 2025, and found that Sillman had broken a window with a screwdriver to enter the hardware store. Inside, officers discovered he had gathered tools, portable heaters, and other merchandise in preparation for taking them from the building…