Man Faces 30 Years For Doughnut Theft

Shoplifting Incident Becomes "Strong Arm Robbery," Could Lead To Life Sentence If Guilty

(AP)  A Missouri man could potentially face a 30-year prison sentence for stealing a doughnut from a store.

Scott A. Masters, 41, of Park Hills, Missouri, has been charged with felony second-degree robbery in the theft of a 52-cent doughnut from a Country Mart in Farmington, about 70 miles south of St. Louis. Store employees said he slipped the doughnut into his sweat shirt without paying last December, then pushed away a clerk who tried to stop him as he fled the store.

The push is being treated as minor assault, which transforms a misdemeanor shoplifting charge into a strong-armed robbery with a potential prison term of five to 15 years. Given Masters' past criminal record, prosecutors could boost that sentence to 30 years to life.

"Strong-arm robbery? Over a doughnut? That's impossible," Masters told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper from jail. He admitted that he took the pastry but denied touching the female employee. "I've never had a violent crime in my life. And there's no way I would've pushed a woman over a doughnut."

Farmington Police Chief Rick Baker said state law treats the shoplifting and assault as forcibly stealing property. The amount of force and value of the property does not matter.

"It's not the doughnut," Baker said. "It's the assault."

Masters, who has been arrested more than a dozen times for crimes ranging from shoplifting to drug possession to torching a car for insurance fraud, said he forgot about the doughnut theft as he spent the summer in jail on outstanding warrants.

He was indicted Sept. 14 for the robbery and is being held on $25,000 bail after having his case continued on Friday. With two prior felony convictions, Masters could face a long prison sentence if found guilty because prosecutors could pursue an enhanced sentence.

County Prosecutor Wendy Wexler Horn said it was "way too early to know how it is going to play out," but that the charge seemed appropriate given the store employees' allegations. She acknowledged some are questioning the seriousness of the charge.

"People are missing the point," Horn said. "It is not about the doughnut."

For Masters' part, he did not even get to enjoy his ill-gotten gains. He said he threw the doughnut away as he fled.

[jetranger7]

NOW Heres Outright Ignorance and Stupidity to the fullest right here !! They''re going to attempt to make this a bigger deal than this needs to be, just so some overzealous proscuter can tack this onto his resume, on way to become govenor or senator ! They want us the Tax Payers to have to foot the bill for this guy for the next 30-Years to life, over a "Donut", and a push, if it was even that ! We''ll be paying Tax Dollars for this ??? Meanwhile, 100-Illegal Aliens just crossed the Border carrying who knows what, and probably most likely set up shop in that small town in missouri, and thats Ok ?????????? This guy may have a past criminal history of minor offenses, but this Punishment definetly does not fit the crime ! I think the Proscuter and the Sheriffs department need to be Investigated throughly for their real motives, because I as a Missouri Tax Payer, don''t want my Tax Dollars going to support this minor crime, when theres way more Dangerous Felons that should be locked up and are Dangerous, compared to this ! Hope everybody protests this Ignorance and Stupid decision by these poor uneducated proscuters and that Sheriffs or Police Department ! Ridlicious is Ridlicious, but this is outright absurd !

[myidoncbs]

The cops are IN-SANE! The "Criminal Justice" system is IN-SANE! If they keep up this utter BullSheet, soon there will be only two kinds of people left in the so-called "United States of America": prisoners and jailors.

The stu-pid prosecutors and cops charge you with all kinds of BS charges, so 1) they can PRETEND they''re so good at catching the "big criminals" and making us "safe", and 2) they can get the "perps" (note: they aren''t human beings, they''re just "perps" to them!) to plea to some lessor charge-- that way, no trial is even necessary. Another "succes" for the prosecution!

LIFE IN PRISON FOR STEALING A 52 CENT DOUGHNUT!!! WELCOME TO THE U.S.A, LAND OF THE TOTALLY IN-SANE!!!

[myidoncbs]

"People are missing the point," Horn said. "It is not about the doughnut."

She''s right. The REAL PROBLEM HERE is that we have people like HER that are responsible for "protecting us"-- people who can''t grasp that we have much bigger problems than petty thiefs who steal 52 cent doughnuts and might push someone in the process!

A couple of years ago, some guy got life in prison for stealing some jeans from a Gap store, because of the "Three Strikes" law. That was ridiculous, but this is even worse!

The USA has gone totally in-sane!

Note to people who think this kind of punishment is justified: Why the h3ll don''t you move to one of the Arabic countries in the Middle East where they CUT OFF YOUR HAND or KILL YOU for theft? That''s where you belong!

[Ed0719]

The Talibanization of the United States is well underway, and pushed further by the radical extremist religionists and GOP. This is just another example.

[Krazcarl]

This is county jail at best this is why are prisons are fill of noncrininels just idiots,

[my2centss]

This goes against Amendment VIII. So while the pedophiles get out with signature bonds, and probation, this guy looks at 30 yrs for half a dollar. Where has the common sense gone? Make the guy spend the weekend in jail and pay back 75 cents.

[abigail531]

YOU GOTTA'' BE KIDDING! THE MAN WAS HUNGRY. I WILL PAY FOR HIS DONUT. THIS HAS NO MERIT. WHAT IS THE STORE''S ADDRESS?

[darrellwy]

Where is the DNA or forensic evidence sounds like a Nifong thing

[undermyboot]

50 cents will get you 30 years of incarceration at taxpayer expense. 30 years x $65,000 per year = 2 MILLION DOLLARS. Let''s be clear- you and I are going to pay 2 MILLION DOLLARS to incarcerate a non-violent 2-bit petty criminal. If you can''t see the problem with this, then you ARE the problem.

[griking]

So if we''re supposed to just turn our backs and ignore what this guy did what dollar amount does the stolen item need to be worth before we can enforce our laws?

Sure, just let it slide and next week when he shoots someone all the same people who argued for this thief to be pardoned will be screaming for harsher laws.

[dgquast]

Seems like Girking is the only one posting here that has a lick of sense. This guy has been a professional criminal for years. He has to have neighbors. Would you like to be one of them. Personally, I don''t even want to live in the same state as him. However, I also don''t much like the idea of the taxpayers footing a $30K + per year bill to keep this repeat offender in jail for the next 30 years. So whats the answer?? Make him earn his keep in prison by making ball point pens or license plates or something. If he doesn''t work, he doesn''t eat. Make prison a truly meaningful experience
so that they really would rather not go b back.

[Krazcarl]

undermyboot....I agree

[Krazcarl]

griking...it was a pastry he was unarmed going for a qiick treat this does not mean he will pull a gun tommorrow and steal a dozen. You probably think that guy in texas that got life for a 12 dollar rubber check is cool{repeat offender clause} we may not hang with these guys but lets be fair. If your going to incarcerate foks on what they may do we''ll have to turn several states or more into nothing but prisons and to be honest we can''t afford it.

[tucano2]

Lae enforcement and prosecutors, as usual, focus NOT on the doughnut, but rather on the hole. Ridiculous waste of taxpayer monies - IF the guy is guilty put him on the county''s road trash pick-up crew for 15 days.

[random_radar]

If we had laws that required compensation instead of prison time, everyone would be better off. Making criminals pay triple damages for the harm they cause is pretty reasonable as a deterrent and to make things right for the victim.

Putting people in prison does not help the victim (who winds up paying taxes for prisons on top of their losses due to the crime). It doesn''t help the criminals who get an all expense paid vacation in hell and come out worse than they started.

Putting someone in jail for thirty years over a donut? What kind of a nation would say this is a good idea? I would be glad to pay for his donut instead of paying $40,000 a year for 30 years to incarcerate him. America is the land of the insanely vindictive.

[random_radar]

Oh, but wait, we are missing the point--it''s not about the donut, it''s about shoving someone during the commission of a crime. Okay, repeatedly shove someone while grabbing low-value items and go to prison for thirty years? Wouldn''t it be more reasonable to ask for an apology and pay for medical bills if the person was hurt?

The real problem is that we have defined everything as a heinous crime and we love punishing people to unreasonable lengths. America is in love with imprisoning people. We love to see people go to jail, directly to jail, do not pass go and do not collect $200. No matter how we want to frame the issue, these cases manifest severe, sick cultural pathology.

[l8c6]

Missouri has turned out to be one sick f*&^$ing state. The state has some of the most perverse pseudo religious *** for politicians as one might find in the south.

Meanwhile Blackwater, a private company takes over a billion dollars from U.S. taxpayers with "freedom" from accountability to the american people. Yes, Bush''s freedom is selective freedom that executes and incarcerates the least of them and allows lawlessness for high functioning anti-sociopaths in government office and multinational corporations.

[erinye_fury]

Bring this back to reality: the guy is a professional crook with a long rap sheet. Send him away, but make him earn part of his keep doing some sort of wark.

[l8c6]

the slang term "sk*ank* is even censored on here... insane.

[l8c6]

Erinye_fury

so h*illb*illy, do you figure the CEO of Blackwater or ones like DeLay should do 30 years for stealing millions or is there truth to the theory of evolution. In other words, natural selection takes care of the masses of ignorance in this country that chew at each other in the most extreme oppressive manner over petty crime while multinational corporations like Wal*Mart welcome shoppers with big bold face threats of the most severe prosecution to shoplifters of plastic toxic cr*ap made in China that Wal*Mart peddles after taking advantage of the lack of human rights laws in China that might result in prosecution in the U.S. effectively exploiting those who are essentially slave workers in China? Justice doesn''t come to some in this world and it appears to be the millionaires and billionaires who are members of corrupt private pseudo government regimes who cohort with the corrupt regimes of other countries.

[incog-nito]

The prison industry loves cases like this. No wonder the U.S. has the highest incarceration rate among Western nations.

[sharncedar]

Well, we have 2.5 million of neo-capitalism''s "losers" in prison now. Our prison population is larger than many countries, its larger than the whole population of the original 13 colonies. but anything so that Jack Welch and Greenspawn can keep banging our young women, I guess you have to put all the young men in prison. Hooray for neo-capitalism.

[nolalou]

Like the doughnut in question, this case is full of holes!

The ironic part is if he is sentenced to years in jail, he''ll problably end up eating dozens of doughnuts at taxpayers expense!

[vancouverboo]

How about a politically correct march for the Farmington 1? What''s that you say? Oh, I see, well, then forget it.

[consciousnes]

I say GOOD ! ! ! It''s about time that people get the message that you just can''t take something that belongs to you. He should just be thankful that he doesn''t life in Iran, he could loose a hand.

[consciousnes]

Sorry about that, "doesn''t belong to you"

[killtheliars]

I heard it was Homer Simpson

[kaminishiki]

"Erinye_fury" is absolutely correct. Yesterday I saw an interview on TV with a guy whose name rang a strange bell...Michael Milken. What confused me was his supposed leadership in some medical research foundation. Was this the same guy from the past, I wondered? So I looked him up at: wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Milken. Guess what. Same criminal. Now number 458 on the Billionaire'' list. Now being praised. Unbelievable.

So there you have it. Proof positive. Point nailed. The ruling elite get away with vast crimes of ungodly proportions, and some guy who steals a doughnut and knocks somebody a bit getting away faces life in prison. Justice in this country is blind, dumb and usually racist.

So all you authoritarians out there who can''t wait to put the trash in the slammer over a doughnut, please enter here your outrage over a man who stole BILLIONS, has 99 indictments, who hires the world''s best attorneys and has friends in powerful places and who gets out of jail in under two years and then touted on TV years later as a philanthropist!!!!

And you folks want to fry a doughnut thief. Give me a break...Totally NUTS.

[michellem99-2009]

People yer don''t know MO and they will bar yer from store/call the cops over a candy bar. So when We lived there I had to keep change in my purse so my diabetes room mate could have a candy bar or OJ. And pay for it. A donugnut that was not his. It was the store''s. It yers when yer buy and pay for it.

[philbyaustx]

How much will it cost taxpayers to imprison a man for theft of a 52 cent doughnut for a year?, 30 years?, life? As for the clerk who got pushed, who would take any risk for 52 cents? Draw the line somewhere else.

[Krazcarl]

random-radar...THanks for the voice of reason.