Police are calling a man they arrested at a Tulsa Kohl's earlier this week a "serial shoplifter."
According to reports,a security officer at the retailer saw Clint McConaghie taking merchandise from the store and recognized him from earlier thefts. The man left thestore in a black SUV, and security notified Tulsa police. Police pulled over McConaghie, who allegedly said, "Just take me to jail."
Not only was the suspect accused of shoplifting from the store, but police discovered that the SUV he was driving had been reported stolen in nearby Owasso.He was arrested and taken to the Tulsa County Jail, where he is currently held on multiple larceny complaints, including 16 counts of larceny froma retailer and two counts of petit larceny.
McConaghie has a criminal history that includes pending charges for 8 counts of larceny from a retailer.
The penalties for shoplifting--or larceny from a retailer--vary depending on the value of the stolen merchandise. Petit larceny, or theft of less than$500 worth of merchandise, is a misdemeanor that is typically punishable by 6 months or less in jail. Grand larceny is theft of property valued at$500 or more. It is a felony that is generally penalized by a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison.
However, Oklahoma is known for handing out tough sentences to repeat offenders. In fact, in 2009, an Oklahoma woman was sentenced to life in prison forstealing two purses from an Oklahoma City Dillard's store. Cecilia Rodriguez rejected a plea deal that would have given her a 17-year sentence. Instead,she entered a blind plea, and the judge sentenced her to life, calling her a "one-person crime wave." Rodriquez had more than 30 convictions for theft,and her attorney and her family say she stole in order to finance her heroin addiction.
Rodriguez appealed to the United States Supreme Court, who in 2012 vacated her sentence, ordering a lower court to take a closer look at the case to makesure she understood the consequences of entering a blind plea. The lower court found that her attorney adequately explained to her that rejecting thenegotiated plea and entering a blind plea would allow the judge to give her a sentence ranging from 4 years to life behind bars. Rodriguez appealedagain, but in 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected her plea without comment.
