SALINE CO.— A Harrisburg man has been sentenced to probation after pleading guilty to stealing himself a beer after hours.
The incident began when Harrisburg Sgt. David Morris was flagged down at 12:15 a.m. June 1 by Mach One employee Shelby Brothers.
Brothers told Morris that a black male had come into the store, located at 44 North Commercial St., Harrisburg, walked over to the beer coolers and came to the register with a Natural Ice can of beer.
Brothers tried to scan the can for purchase only to have it rejected by the machine due to the fact the system is set up so that alcohol cannot be sold at that time.
The male then went back to the beer cooler area, yelled “where is the sodas?” and returned to the register with a soda.
Brothers said the man was acting weird and was holding his left arm close to his body.
She said he paid for the soda and asked for a sack in order to use it to accomplish something in his car and left the building and started walking west on Poplar Street.
Brothers said the man kept looking back at her until he was a good distance from the building.
She thought this odd because he had said something about having a car and was obviously on foot.
When the man spotted her, Brothers said she walked across the street and that’s when she spotted officer Morris.
Morris located the man, stopped him and identified him as Kirkland E. Cole, 57, of 108 West Sloan St., Harrisburg.
Cole informed him that he was heading to the county jail to bond out Tara Sherrod.
“I asked him for the beer he had stolen from Mach One,” Morris said. “He reached into his left arm sleeve and pulled out a white paper sack that contained a 24 ounce can of Steel Reserve beer.”
And that’s about the time Cole started apologizing and said he only stole the beer because Brothers wouldn’t sell it to him.
Cole even showed Sgt. Morris that he had approximately $580 on him.
He was taken into custody and charged with Theft.
Cole was convicted June 23, 1989 of felony Theft for which he was sentenced to probation for six months and ordered to pay $495.36 in fines and fees.
He earned his second Saline felony January 18, 1991 when he was convicted of Manufacture/Distribute a Like-alike Substance, for which he was sentenced to probation for 30 months and ordered to pay $3,112.04.
Cole pleaded guilty to the charge June 25, and was sentenced to probation for one year and ordered to pay $2,4276 in fines and fees, of which he has paid nothing.
No doubt Mr. Cole will endeavor to check the hour prior to attempting to make his next beer purchase; that, or he will endeavor to be a better thief…