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NEW ORLEANS — A man is facing life in prison for stealing candy. Jacobia Grimes is accused of taking $31 worth of candy bars from a store in Louisiana. Grimes has five previous theft convictions.
Under Louisiana state law, that makes him eligible for a harsher sentence ranging from 20 years to life.
Orleans Parish prosecutors chose to charge Grimes under that statute.
“Isn’t this a little over the top,” Judge Franz Zibilich said at the arraignment. “Twenty years to life for a Snickers bar, or two or three or four.”
Grimes’ attorneys said all of their client’s thefts were for less than $500.
Stolen items include socks and pants from a Dollar General store.
