That results in going to a Texas jail or prison for the 12th time.
A Brazos County district court jury that convicted 40 year old Byron Carroll also imposed his longest punishment with an eight year prison sentence.
A news release from the district attorney’s office stated Carroll was found guilty of taking a $300 dollar robot vacuum cleaner from the College Station Target last December.
Prosecutors say that was the sixth theft from that store.
The news release also noted the jury heard about Carroll’s criminal record, which includes convictions in Brazos, Robertson, Travis, and Harris counties.
This is only the second time that Carroll’s sentence is longer than six months.
News release from the Brazos County district attorney’s office:
Byron Carroll, 40, was convicted of Theft of Property with Two or More Previous Conviction and sentenced to eight years in prison by a Brazos County jury in the 361st District Court.
On December 18, 2020, the defendant entered the Target store on S. Texas Ave. in College Station. He unboxed a robot vacuum cleaner and concealed it under his sweatshirt. The defendant then exited the store without paying for the vacuum valued over $300.
Target employees recognized the defendant from five previous thefts he had committed at the same store in the weeks prior to December 18, 2020.
Law enforcement officers from College Station Police Department were able to identify the defendant through surveillance video provided by Target.
In the punishment phase of trial, prosecutors presented evidence of 33 prior convictions, including 22 convictions for theft-related offenses.
The defendant’s first conviction was for Burglary of Building in 2002 and he was sentenced to seven months in State Jail out of Harris County. In October 2003, the defendant committed Theft and subsequently sentenced to 60 days in jail out of Harris County. In August 2004, he was sentenced to nine months in State Jail for the offense of Forgery out of Robertson County.
In 2009, the defendant committed three additional theft offenses and was sentenced to ten months in State Jail in 2010 out of Brazos County. Following his sentence to State Jail in 2010, the defendant committed a Burglary of a Building and two counts of Credit Debit Card Abuse between 2010 and 2011. He was sentenced to three years in prison in 2011 out of Brazos County.
In 2012, the defendant was sentenced to 70 days in jail for Criminal Trespass. In 2013, the defendant was sentenced to 275 days in jail for Criminal Trespass. In 2014, the defendant was convicted of Failure to Identify and Driving While License Invalid. He served 115 days in the Brazos County jail for those misdemeanor convictions.
In 2018, the defendant was convicted of four thefts in Travis County. He was not enhanced to a higher punishment range for those theft offenses and was sentenced to six months in State Jail.
In 2019, the defendant was convicted of three more thefts in Travis County. He was not enhanced to a higher punishment range and was sentenced to six months in State Jail.
In 2020, the defendant was convicted of six thefts out of Travis County and sentenced to 90 days in jail.
The jury took the defendant’s prior criminal history into account in determining their sentence of eight years in prison. The maximum punishment for this crime is 10 years in prison.