MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa (AP) – Police blame a woman named Butts for stealing toilet paper from a central Iowa courthouse, and while they’re chuckling, the theft charge could put her in prison.
“She’s facing potentially three years of incarceration for three rolls of toilet paper,” Chief Lon Walker said, stifling a laugh as he talked to KCCI-TV about Suzanne Marie Butts. “See, I can’t say it with a straight face.”
Workers had noticed the rolls disappearing from the Marshall County Courthouse much faster than usual, Walker said.
Butts, 38, was caught last week after an employee saw her taking three rolls of two-ply tissue from a storage closet, Walker said.
Butts insisted it was the first time she’d pilfered toilet paper, but she declined to answer further questions on her attorney’s advice.
The fifth-degree theft charge, a misdemeanor, normally carries a sentence of less than a year in jail. But Butts could face more time if convicted under the state’s habitual offender law because she has prior theft convictions.
Walker did not know why Butts was at the courthouse, but said that she did not work there.
On a related note… There were some real nice headlines back when the scandal rocked Zimbabwe, but these were the best ones I could find on short notice, both from the BBC:
Three years in prison for 3 rolls. Doesn’t this kind of penalty (possible penalty) seem a little extreme? How long do you get in jail if you get drunk and kill someone with your car?
I don’t know about Iowa, but in California, usually either 2 years, or 6 years (if the state proves “gross negligence”), assuming it’s charged as a felony. Vehicular manslaughter is a “wobbler,” though, which means it can also be charged as a misdemeanor, with a penalty of up to 1 year in county jail.
Keep in mind that this woman’s charge was enhanced because she has prior theft convictions. The underlying charge normally carries a penalty up to 1 year in jail – it’s the priors that make it suddenly eligible for three years (probably in prison). California works the same way. Petty theft is, IIRC, a straight misdemeanor and carries up to I think six months in jail (maybe one year). But petty theft with a prior (meaning you have a prior conviction for a theft offense) is a wobbler. Conviction of that offense can send you to prison for some term of years. (Coincidentally, the penal code section for petty theft with a prior is 666. Spooky!)
And going back to your DUI manslaughter example, in California, if you have certain prior convictions your sentence can be elevated as high as 15 to life. Same concept. It’s not like drunk drivers are getting off light.
