Man Sentenced to 20 Years for Stealing Cigarettes

He was reportedly a habitual felon
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Sep 23, 2018 5:00 PM CDT
Man Sentenced to 20 Years for Stealing Cigarettes
Cigarettes for sale in Montana.   (AP Photo/Bobby Caina Calvan, File)

A Florida man who stole $600 worth of cigarettes from a convenience store has been sentenced to 20 years in state prison, per the AP. A jury in Pensacola convicted 48-year-old Robert Spellman of burglary and grand theft in August. Authorities say Spellman took 10 cartons of cigarettes from a stock room in the store manager's office last December. He was sentenced Friday. The Pensacola News Journal reports that Spellman had 14 felony and 31 misdemeanor convictions prior to the cigarette theft, which qualified him as a habitual felony offender. That led to the lengthy 20-year prison sentence imposed Friday by an Escambia County judge. (More cigarettes stories.)

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