MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A judge on Friday handed down a three-year sentence to a former Alabama sheriff removed from office after being convicted of theft and ethics violations.

Former Limestone County Sheriff Mike Blakely, 70, was convicted of taking no-interest loans from a jail fund that held prisoners’ money and of stealing $4,000 from his campaign account.

“Mike Blakely received the maximum penalty for violating the law,” said Attorney General Steve Marshall in a news release. “It is vitally important that this sentence sends a clear and strong message that officials who breach the public’s trust should and will face the same penalties as anyone else.”

Blakely, first elected in 1983, served 10 terms in office. He was automatically removed from office after being convicted of a felony.