Shoplifter Receives 10 Months in Jail

Robert Lewis Brown, a 46-year-old man of 226 West Fourth Ave., Kenbridge, was sentenced recently in Lunenburg Circuit Court on one felony count of shoplifting as a third offense of larceny to five years in prison with all suspended except ten months in jail as a result of stealing items from a Kenbridge store in September.

As part of a plea agreement, Brown also agreed to stay out of Lunenburg County for five years upon his release in exchange for an active sentence at the lower end of the sentencing guidelines. “This is another good example of this option being beneficial to our county residents,” said Clement. “Here is the man who exposed himself in the Victoria Library in 2010 and was convicted of indecent exposure, receiving the entire maximum sentence of 12 months. After his release in 2010, he was charged with sexual display and trespassing in Mecklenburg County for an incident at the South Hill library, but due to the distress of the witness, he was convicted of just the trespassing charge and sentenced to nine months,” said Clement.

“More recently there were additional complaints about Brown hanging around in front of businesses in Kenbridge, but nothing could be done until now,” said Clement. Brown was also convicted in Nottoway General District Court on December 19, 2012 for petit larceny and received a suspended 12-month sentence. This Lunenburg conviction should allow Nottoway to seek revocation of that suspended sentence, according to Clement.

According to a summary of evidence provided in Lunenburg Circuit Court, Brown was seen by a store employee removing a paring knife from a package and sticking it in his pocket. When Brown was confronted by police, they recovered the knife and a pair of earphones. The packaging was found behind freezers in the store.

An additional suspended sentence of four years and two months was imposed under which Brown is subject to conditions of good behavior for five years, including abstaining from and not possessing illegal drugs, supervised probation upon his release for one year, warrantless searches and seizures, and staying out of Lunenburg County for five years upon his release.

In addition to his previous convictions cited above, Brown was also convicted in Nottoway Circuit Court in 1988 for larceny of a vehicle; in Lunenburg for grand larceny of a vehicle in 1989; and in Mecklenburg County for breaking and entering in 1991 for which he was sentenced to 20 years with 10 suspended.