Judge rejects plea agreements from ex-Navy engineer, wife in nuclear submarine espionage case

A federal judge rejected the government’s proposed prison sentences for former Annapolis-based Navy engineer Jonathan Toebbe and his wife, six months after they pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to sell classified nuclear submarine secrets to a foreign government, saying Tuesday that they were too lenient.

U.S. District Court Judge Gina Groh of the Northern District of West Virginia said the proposed sentences for Toebbe, 43, and his wife, Diana, were “not in the best interest” of the country.