Posted on 10/07/2007 3:14:59 PM PDT by macmedic892
Shoplifters at Country Mart tend to favor cold medicines and packaged meats. They used to steal cigarettes, too, until tobacco was moved behind the counter. But the doughnuts were never a target for thieves.
Country Mart's doughnuts — fried fresh daily in the store — sell for just 52 cents each. That is why the "shoplifters will be prosecuted" signs are displayed in aisle 4 with the pricey pain and allergy pills, and not in aisle 5 beside the glass doughnut case with its tiger tails, jelly-filleds and eclairs.
Then one man's sweet tooth got the better of him. He stole a doughnut. A single doughnut.
Authorities called it strong-arm robbery. The "doughnut man," as the suspect is now known, faces five to 15 years in prison for his crime. And Farmington, a town of 14,000 people about 70 miles south of St. Louis, has been buzzing about it ever since.
"That someone would take just a single doughnut, not something very expensive or extravagant, that's unique," supermarket assistant manager Gary Komar said, smiling.
(Excerpt) Read more at stltoday.com ...
The guy’s record tells me that we will all be better off with him locked away from society for the rest of his life.
My guess would be that the first name is Juan, Jesus, Jorge or something like that. Probably and illegal alien.
I, too, appreciate sarcasm.
He is not facing this sentence because he stole a doughnut.
How many of the people commenting on this thread have been convicted of one felony? How about two?
If there was evidence that he pushed the lady, which I assume a jury will decide, he was willing to push a woman after having been convicted of and serving two felony sentences, risking a huge sentence, for a PASTRY. That’s all he needs for motivation.
Anyone willing to do that should not be out. This isn’t about Jean Valjean, who stole because he was starving and could not get work.
This is an employed thug who walks all over innocent people because a doughnut looks yummy.
Away with him. How many felonies, statistically, do you suppose he committed that he HASN’T been caught doing?
Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's. Caesar says this mook gets 30-to-life, and I say hooray.
-ccm
He's going up for the assault + multiple convictions. Or am I stating the obvious?
Yup,those of us who clicked on the "stltoday" know that he's not being given 30 years for simply stealing a 60 cent donut.We know that he's in danger of getting 30 years for stealing a 60 cent donut ******and******* lightly shoving someone in a way that didn't spill a single drop of blood.
What we have here is a Nifong-like prosecutor who,I'll wager,has major political ambitions...Attorney General....Supreme Court...County Truancy Officer.
The arresting officer.
The victim.
No, thirty years for being "arrested more than a dozen times: for being drunk, for shoplifting, for missed court dates, for marijuana possession. He spent most of the 1990s and a stretch from 2000 to 2004 in state prison for the felonies of torching a car to collect insurance and possessing methamphetamine ingredients" AND not getting the message that when you are a two-time loser, you don't get to push people out of the way and take off when you could be charged with ANOTHER misdemeanor for shoplifting. What part of "shoplifters will be prosecuted" doesn't he understand? The jackass still thinks he's entitled to a eensy-weensy bit of crime without losing his freedom for good.
Hopefully, people won't yank the compassion card out. Where's HIS compassion for people who are trying to make a living working at a supermarket? Let him stand as an example to people who refuse to get their schtuff together.
The prosecutor involved would fit right in in a place like Iran where shoplifters get their hands cut off.And here's a bit of advice for you;keep saying to yourself over and over again....."60 cents and a light push".........."60 cents and a light push".....and I'll bet that eventually you'll understand.
You're getting hysterical. That's nonsense.
And here's a bit of advice for you;keep saying to yourself over and over again....."60 cents and a light push".........."60 cents and a light push".....and I'll bet that eventually you'll understand.
If HE said to himself, "30 years for 60 cents and a light push...30 years for 60 cents and a light push..." we wouldn't be talking about him.
Last year, I was serving my turn as an attendant at my church when a scruffy looking guy came through the doors on a Sunday morning. He had been invited by a young mother who had struck up a conversation with him when she was visiting a shelter. I asked him if there was someone who invited him that he would like to sit beside. He replied, "I'm looking for my girl."
Knowing that she wasn't dating anyone, I didn't assume he was talking about the young mother. He found her as he scanned the seats, and briskly walked toward her. She smiled, thankful that he took her up on her invitation. Then the man leaned over to kiss her. A look of horror came over her face as she recoiled. I knew this was trouble.
I directed the man to a free seat across the aisle in front of her, and watched him like a hawk. He kept peeking over his shoulder at the young mother, trying to make eye contact. She was having none of it. Then he took a pen and a slip of paper and started writing. My suspicion that he was trying to slip her a note were correct. He left his seat, walked up to her, handed her the note, and sat back down. She read the note and immediately gathered her purse, Bible, and kids and moved from one side of the auditorium to the other. As soon as she started moving, he got up to follow her.
I and another attendant sprung into action, blocking his path and telling him to step outside, where we told him that he was acting inappropriately, that the young mother's invitation was not intended as an interest in a relationship, and he would not be allowed back inside. He angrily and profanely insisted that he wasn't interested in her sexually, and that if he was, he could have had her. He then went on to tell me about how he was not a bad person because he was homeless and a twice-convicted felon, spinning a tale about how he could be a rich man if he had agreed to make changes in a script he almost sold to a Hollywood studio. He eventually calmed down a bit, and I listened to the long stories he told to keep him outside.
He said he wanted to apologize to the young mother, and I told him I would pass his thoughts along to her. Nope, he said, he wanted to issue the apology personally. I told him that wasn't an option and that I didn't want to get police involved, he, as a two-time loser, needed to think about whether or not he wanted this to be his third strike. He said he had gotten the message, and sat at a nearby bus stop.
I thought it was over. I was wrong. After the final prayer, I was taking care of other duties when someone told me that there was a man who demanded to see the young mother. As I arrived at the front door, he was shouting about what a c---teasing b*tch she was for leading him on.
As I arrived, and told him in no uncertain terms to leave immediately, he held his own freedom in his hands. He could either leave a free man, or get himself locked because he couldn't move forward with his existence without cussing her out or worse. Fortunately for him, when I stood in his path and told him to leave, he left. If he had tried to push past me, he would have been arrested.
In my life, I've made mistakes, but the reason why I'm a free man is that I have made choices; choosing NOT to take drugs, choosing NOT to steal, choosing NOT to drive drunk, etc. I am enjoying my fortieth-odd year having never seen the inside of a police car, much less a jail cell. I can't imagine being in that situation, much less being in state prison twice. OTOH, Donut Boy chose to stand on the tracks in front of a streetcar named Third Strike. That was HIS choice.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Actually, his name is 24601.
-PJ
...but a weak-stomach necessity!
How about chopping his hand off?
We need to bring back the pillory or the whipping post for things like this. Cheaper, faster, more efficient, and they don’t forget.
This guy is a total loser know, but what if the first time he got busted for shoplifting or some other minor crime, he was taken out behind the courthouse and given five lashes?
I am not saying it is appropriate in all cases, or for all crimes, but it seems to me that locking this POS up for 30 years just means that the taxpayers are going to have to feed and clothe him for that amount of time.
He’s probably going to be just as comfortable there as he would be anywhere else, and the food comes hot and on time.
You know anyone that has committed three felonies? I don't. I'm not even sure that I know someone who knows someone that's done it.
Masters, who lives in the nearby town of Park Hills, has been arrested more than a dozen times: for being drunk, for shoplifting, for missed court dates, for marijuana possession. He spent most of the 1990s and a stretch from 2000 to 2004 in state prison for the felonies of torching a car to collect insurance and possessing methamphetamine ingredients.
He spent the summer in jail on outstanding warrants. Just before he was to get out, he was indicted Sept. 14 in the doughnut case. His bail was set at $25,000 — well beyond his means. He is shaken by the possibility of a third felony conviction. A prosecutor could pursue an enhanced sentence. As a persistent offender, Masters could face a murderer's term.
Yup. With you there....perhaps I've walked right UP to the line sometimes, but I've always had the sense not to cross over it.
The really ironic thing this that this store sounds like a privately owned, small-town type place. He likely could have asked politely for a doughnut, and gotten it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.