A pair of thieves argued that they should receive lighter sentences because the items they stole from a Kohl’s store were on sale.
The district attorney’s office for Colorado’s Judicial District 18, which include Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert and Lincoln counties, said in a Tuesday statement that the men’s defense attorneys told a jury that their clients should face lesser charges because some of the items they stole were discounted.
The pair, Michael Green, 50, and Byron Bolden, 37, were ultimately convicted of the higher charge, felony theft, instead of the lesser, misdemeanor charge, the DA said.
The thieves were called the “KitchenAid Mixer Crew” by Kohl’s employees because they targeted the pricey kitchen appliances: One KitchenAid stand mixer stolen retails for $499 at Kohl’s, although it’s currently on sale for $350 Also stolen were brand-name shoes and clothing.
The conviction comes as retailers claim they’re being targeted by organized groups of shoplifters, with Target blaming a rise in theft for the closure of 9 stores.
Even so, one industry group recently said it overstated the size of the problem, revising a report that originally claimed about half of the industry’s $94.5 billion in missing merchandise was due to organized retail crime.
But the lobbying group on Friday retracted that figure, although it reiterated that shoplifting continues to be a major problem for retailers.
The DA’s office said the documented value of the stolen items was about $2,095. Under Colorado law, theft between $2,000 to $5,000 is a Class A felony, while theft under $2,000 is a misdemeanor — the charge that Green and Bolden’s attorneys argued for, citing that the items they took were on sale.
