Even the judge in the case found this punishment way too harsh!
Because Jacobia Grimes has five prior theft charges, he can be charged under Louisiana’s habitual offender law, which ups his charge from a misdemeanor to a felony punishable by 20 years to life behind bars.
“Isn’t this a little over the top?” Judge Franz Zibilich said during the 34-year-old’s arraignment Thursday.
“It’s not even funny,” he said. “Twenty years to life for a Snickers bar, or two or three or four.”
The newest charge came about in December, after a store manager saw Grimes boosting candy. He willingly emptied out his pockets before the arrest — and the total of his sugary loot came to $31.
The arrest could have been a minor thing, but the district attorney’s office chose to apply the habitual offender law and seek an inexplicably harsh penalty.
Grimes’ priors include thefts from Rite-Aid, Sav-A-Center, Blockbuster and Rouses, according to his attorneys. In all cases, the stolen goods totaled to less than $500.
