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Author Topic: 30 years for stealing a doughnut  (Read 3625 times)

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Re: 30 years for stealing a doughnut
« Reply #30 on: October 11, 2007, 05:51:20 AM »
Sure. But, the very KIND of crime is an important
point. Why shoplift, if you have money? Sure, some
do it for the thrill or something (for me, 'twas honor),
but it's different.

Same with B&E.

I used to live in what is called the gold coast of Connecticut and knew a lot of little rich kids who shoplifted and committed B&E  and were usually the ones that got way with it because nobody thought they would do it and their parents hushed everything up when they got caught.
"Eat it up.  Wear it out.  Make it do or do without." 

'People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.'
George Bernard Shaw

Offline Calandale

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Re: 30 years for stealing a doughnut
« Reply #31 on: October 11, 2007, 06:00:32 AM »
Yeah. I know. I'm just saying that the numbers
have to be different. Kids are going to steal.
No question that it's skewed, so that the
rich get off a LOT easier.

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Re: 30 years for stealing a doughnut
« Reply #32 on: October 11, 2007, 06:02:37 AM »
Are you still on here from last night?
"Eat it up.  Wear it out.  Make it do or do without." 

'People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.'
George Bernard Shaw

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Re: 30 years for stealing a doughnut
« Reply #33 on: October 11, 2007, 06:04:48 AM »
Yeah. I know. I'm just saying that the numbers
have to be different. Kids are going to steal.
No question that it's skewed, so that the
rich get off a LOT easier.
Then blanket statements should not be used
"Eat it up.  Wear it out.  Make it do or do without." 

'People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.'
George Bernard Shaw

Teejay

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Re: 30 years for stealing a doughnut
« Reply #34 on: October 11, 2007, 06:06:05 AM »

Quote
Blacks, Hispanics and Rednecks who are much more likely to commit crimes than everybody else.

 ??? ??? :grrr: ??? ???


Look at the stats, it shows that Black, Hispanic or Southern White people are more likely than average and vs other groups to commit crimes. It is clear as night and day.

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Re: 30 years for stealing a doughnut
« Reply #35 on: October 11, 2007, 06:09:00 AM »

Quote
Blacks, Hispanics and Rednecks who are much more likely to commit crimes than everybody else.

 ??? ??? :grrr: ??? ???


Look at the stats, it shows that Black, Hispanic or Southern White people are more likely than average and vs other groups to commit crimes. It is clear as night and day.

It also shows they they tend to be poor also. 
"Eat it up.  Wear it out.  Make it do or do without." 

'People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.'
George Bernard Shaw

Offline Calandale

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Re: 30 years for stealing a doughnut
« Reply #36 on: October 11, 2007, 06:10:48 AM »
Just shows that crime does not pay.  :laugh:

duncvis

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Re: 30 years for stealing a doughnut
« Reply #37 on: October 11, 2007, 10:27:29 AM »

Quote
Blacks, Hispanics and Rednecks who are much more likely to commit crimes than everybody else.

 ??? ??? :grrr: ??? ???


Look at the stats, it shows that Black, Hispanic or Southern White people are more likely than average and vs other groups to commit crimes. It is clear as night and day.

It also shows they they tend to be poor also. 

don't waste your breath on the hateful little prick. he's swallowed the red pill.  ::)

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Re: 30 years for stealing a doughnut
« Reply #38 on: October 11, 2007, 11:05:06 AM »

Quote
Blacks, Hispanics and Rednecks who are much more likely to commit crimes than everybody else.

 ??? ??? :grrr: ??? ???


Look at the stats, it shows that Black, Hispanic or Southern White people are more likely than average and vs other groups to commit crimes. It is clear as night and day.

It also shows they they tend to be poor also. 

don't waste your breath on the hateful little prick. he's swallowed the red pill.  ::)

What a waste but for some people open minds just don't work I hope he will see the light someday
"Eat it up.  Wear it out.  Make it do or do without." 

'People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.'
George Bernard Shaw

Teejay

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Re: 30 years for stealing a doughnut
« Reply #39 on: October 12, 2007, 04:26:53 AM »


It also shows they they tend to be poor also. 

People can be quite poor and law obeying at the same time, For example Australia during the depths of the Great Depression had a lower crime rate than today.

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Re: 30 years for stealing a doughnut
« Reply #40 on: October 12, 2007, 04:51:01 AM »
Yeah. Less opportunity to
get arrested. Whoop whoop.

Teejay

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Re: 30 years for stealing a doughnut
« Reply #41 on: October 12, 2007, 04:56:09 AM »
don't waste your breath on the hateful little prick. he's swallowed the red pill.  ::)

I am not proud of some aspects of my personality. However I see my dislike of criminals and wanting them to be rightfully punished as a good thing.

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Re: 30 years for stealing a doughnut
« Reply #42 on: October 27, 2007, 07:23:21 AM »
This is from the initial article from a St. Louis newspaper. --It appears that the man in question has a lengthy criminal record, and is going to be tried under Missouri's repeat offender law.


Quote from: St. Louis Today
   
News > Missouri State News > Story
52-cent doughnut may cost man 30 years to life
By Todd C. Frankel
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
10/07/2007

FARMINGTON, MO. — 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.

Scott A. Masters, 41, is accused of shoplifting the pastry and pushing a store worker who tried to stop him. The worker was unhurt. But with that shove, his shoplifting turned into a strong-arm robbery. Masters, who appeared in court Friday, is stunned. The prosecutor shows no signs of backing down. In fact, because Masters has a prior record, he could get a sentence of 30 years to life.

Lanell Gibbs was there the day of the doughnut heist.

"That was a first," Gibbs, 68, said.

She has worked for 11 years as a cashier at Country Mart, a regional supermarket chain. Next to her register, she keeps a clipping from the local newspaper about the doughnut man's case. He was indicted just last month, although the theft took place in December. She likes to show the article to customers as she recounts the story.

It was about 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 6. The store was in a lull. Gibbs, who could see the doughnut case from her station, said she saw Masters slip the doughnut into the pocket of his hooded sweatshirt.

She turned to a co-worker and said, "I saw him take a doughnut. Let's see if he pays for it."

They watched Masters as he strolled past the seven green checkout lanes and out a side door between the customer service desk and the pharmacy, passing under a giant "Country Mart Thanks You" sign.

Gibbs' co-worker followed Masters into the parking lot. The co-worker, a 54-year-old woman, demanded that Masters come inside, according to the police report. He offered to give the doughnut back. She declined and grabbed his arm.

That is when Masters allegedly delivered "a backhanded punch to the chest" and took off running, police said.

"That made her mad," Gibbs recalled.

The woman, who was uninjured, jumped in her car and called police as she chased Masters. He was arrested minutes later.

Farmington Police Chief Rick Baker said the two incidents taken separately equaled two misdemeanors: shoplifting and minor third-degree assault. Together, they make for second-degree robbery, a class B felony, defined in state law as forcibly stealing property. The amount of force and the amount of property does not matter.

"It's not the doughnut," Baker said. "It's the assault."

Masters is a small man, wiry, about 5-foot-6, with short-cropped hair, a graying goatee and hound-dog eyes. He is a "frequent flier" at the St. Francois County detention center.

"Yeah, Scotty is well known," said Deputy Sheriff Dennis Smith, reviewing Masters' criminal history.

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.

I do agree that the repeat offender laws are rather draconian, especially in light of the fact that US prisons have stopped trying to rehabilitate prisoners, and now essentially warehouse them, however, the guy did bring this upon himself.
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Re: 30 years for stealing a doughnut
« Reply #43 on: October 27, 2007, 05:14:36 PM »
This is from the initial article from a St. Louis newspaper. --It appears that the man in question has a lengthy criminal record, and is going to be tried under Missouri's repeat offender law.


Quote from: St. Louis Today
   
News > Missouri State News > Story
52-cent doughnut may cost man 30 years to life
By Todd C. Frankel
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
10/07/2007

FARMINGTON, MO. — 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.

Scott A. Masters, 41, is accused of shoplifting the pastry and pushing a store worker who tried to stop him. The worker was unhurt. But with that shove, his shoplifting turned into a strong-arm robbery. Masters, who appeared in court Friday, is stunned. The prosecutor shows no signs of backing down. In fact, because Masters has a prior record, he could get a sentence of 30 years to life.

Lanell Gibbs was there the day of the doughnut heist.

"That was a first," Gibbs, 68, said.

She has worked for 11 years as a cashier at Country Mart, a regional supermarket chain. Next to her register, she keeps a clipping from the local newspaper about the doughnut man's case. He was indicted just last month, although the theft took place in December. She likes to show the article to customers as she recounts the story.

It was about 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 6. The store was in a lull. Gibbs, who could see the doughnut case from her station, said she saw Masters slip the doughnut into the pocket of his hooded sweatshirt.

She turned to a co-worker and said, "I saw him take a doughnut. Let's see if he pays for it."

They watched Masters as he strolled past the seven green checkout lanes and out a side door between the customer service desk and the pharmacy, passing under a giant "Country Mart Thanks You" sign.

Gibbs' co-worker followed Masters into the parking lot. The co-worker, a 54-year-old woman, demanded that Masters come inside, according to the police report. He offered to give the doughnut back. She declined and grabbed his arm.

That is when Masters allegedly delivered "a backhanded punch to the chest" and took off running, police said.

"That made her mad," Gibbs recalled.

The woman, who was uninjured, jumped in her car and called police as she chased Masters. He was arrested minutes later.

Farmington Police Chief Rick Baker said the two incidents taken separately equaled two misdemeanors: shoplifting and minor third-degree assault. Together, they make for second-degree robbery, a class B felony, defined in state law as forcibly stealing property. The amount of force and the amount of property does not matter.

"It's not the doughnut," Baker said. "It's the assault."

Masters is a small man, wiry, about 5-foot-6, with short-cropped hair, a graying goatee and hound-dog eyes. He is a "frequent flier" at the St. Francois County detention center.

"Yeah, Scotty is well known," said Deputy Sheriff Dennis Smith, reviewing Masters' criminal history.

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.

I do agree that the repeat offender laws are rather draconian, especially in light of the fact that US prisons have stopped trying to rehabilitate prisoners, and now essentially warehouse them, however, the guy did bring this upon himself.

Sounds like a case of ADHD to me, but then, people with ADHD account for 25% of the prison population in the US.
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