Prison sentence for stealing steak

By Brad Kellar
Journal Staff

Tue, May 13 2008

— A Commerce man must have been really hungry earlier this month when local police officers found him carrying an assortment of food items in his shirt.
The merchandise, including steaks and sausage, was enough to earn Larry Darnell Johnson a trip to prison, after the defendant admitted to having stolen the products from a Commerce business.
Johnson, 51, entered a plea of guilty March 5 to a charge of felony theft and was sentenced to five years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice-Institutional Division.
According to a criminal complaint filed by the Commerce Police Department, an officer responded to a call of a shoplifting at the Braum’s store in the city on Feb. 18. Among the items reported stolen were two bacon-wrapped filets, one top sirloin steak, one eye of round roast and three hot links.
Johnson, who matched the description given of the suspect in the theft, was discovered walking a short distance away with the merchandise tucked into his shirt and was taken into custody.
The charge against Johnson was enhanced to a third degree felony, as Johnson was found to have several previous convictions for theft on his record. He could have faced a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison for the conviction.