A Louisiana man accused of stuffing $31 worth of candy bars into his pockets faces a possible sentence of 20 years to life in prison, prompting a judge to question whether the sentence was “over the top.”
Orleans Parish prosecutors chose to charge Jacobia Grimes, 34, under a statute that boosts the alleged candy theft to a felony. The law applies to people who have been convicted of “theft of goods” at least twice. Grimes has five prior theft convictions, making him a “quad” offender under the state’s habitual-offender law.
Grimes, 34, pleaded not guilty Thursday, The New Orleans Advocate reported.
The possible sentence raised questions with Judge Franz Zibilich, who was overseeing Grimes’ arraignment last week.
“Isn’t this a little over the top?” Zibilich said. “Twenty years to life for a Snickers bar, or two or three or four.”
Grimes’ attorneys, Miles Swanson and Michael Kennedy, said his prior guilty pleas were for similar shoplifting attempts, including stealing from a Rite-Aid, Save-A-Center, Blockbuster Video, and Rouses grocery stores.
Swanson said all the thefts were for less than $500 worth of items. The last theft of socks and trousers from a Dollar General store got him a four-year sentence in 2010.
One of his lawyers said he could have been charged under a different statute than the habitual-offender law.
“They’re spending their time to lock someone up for years over $31 worth of candy,” Swanson said.
Grimes also faces a charge of drug paraphernalia possession. He is currently free on $5,000 bond, court records show. His lawyers say he has a heroin problem. Grimes also has convictions for possession with intent to sell fake drugs and obscenity, a crime committed while he was behind bars, the newspaper reported.
Christopher Bowman, a spokesman for the district attorney’s office, would not comment on the specifics of Grimes’ case, citing office policy. He emphasized that the alleged crime was considered a felony by the state.
The case appears to be an extreme example of a widespread practice in Louisiana, which criminal justice reform advocates say has one of the toughest habitual-offender laws in the country, the newspaper reported.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
I remember after Hurricane Katrina construction companies were offering decent pay for clean-up workers. They found so few applicants in the New Orleans area that they had to import workers from around the country. This man may have been one of those New Orleans’ residents turning up their nose at a well-paying if slightly nasty job. They’d rather draw county assistance and food stamps than work. I’ve been broke a few times in my life, but I always found work. This man needs to learn to work. But the life sentence is extreme. Now he’ll live for free the rest of his life. Put him to work picking up roadside garbage. Teach him to work!!
Finally, a story that brought a smile to my face. Actually, it made me really laugh hard. For a minute, I thought I had p’d my pants. I hope this POS gets that life sentence. Too bad he can’t get the death penalty, that way we wouldn’t have to pay for his stay. Life for stealing candy bars!!!!!!!!
The government should reward criminals with tough sentences, but I’m not sure it is fair to victimize the taxpayers. They are going to be forced to keep this petty thief up for the rest of his life. Maybe a better sentence would be to order this guy to repay threefold for the amount stolen. Since he enjoys picking things up that doesn’t belong to him, the judge should sentence him to five years of community service of picking up trash daily (7 days a week/eight hours a day) from the side of the roads. An ankle bracelet and random drug/alcohol tests should be enough to keep track of him while he serves his sentence and spends his nights at home at his own expense.
Louisiana so called “justice” firmly isolates the USA from the community of civilized nations …This is worse than Europe of the 9th century ! An embarrassment and shame for the self rightious American Republic
Government over reach with prosecutors trying to make a name for themselves. Wouldn’t it make more sense to try and rehabilitate this poor soul instead of putting him away? I really despise the crassness and uncaring nature of our legal system in this regard. For crying out loud we are talking about candy bars!!!
His prior guilty pleas were for similar shoplifting attempts, including Stealing from a Rite-Aid, Save-A-Center, Blockbuster Video, and Rouses grocery stores, if you owned a Store who have to deal with the loss’s every month you would think different .
Yahbut, you see, we’ve got these privatized prison systems now, and in order to maximize profitability we must keep the cells full. And prosecutors move up the political ladder according to the number of convictions they attain during their tenure. That’s why it’s called the judicial “system”.
And Obama is turning out Serious Criminals. What a joke!
He is one of the reasons we are 19 trillion in the hole. A worthless waste of human skin. No redeeming qualities, nothing but a drag on a society that has to support him. It leads one to ponder….would not putting him out of our misery be justified. Just too many bleeding hearts.
SOOOO True