The Brazos County district attorney’s office reports 40 year old Latonya Payton was given an 18 month state jail sentence after admitting last Thursday to stealing alcohol from a College Station liquor store almost two years ago.
Prosecutors say this is the fourth time Payton will be serving time.
And she is awaiting trial on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and evading arrest from an incident where she is accused of driving a SUV that struck a teenager near Sadie Thomas Park in Bryan in September of 2020.
News release from the Brazos County district attorney’s office:
Latonya Payton was sentenced to 18 months in state jail for Theft with Previous Convictions on Thursday, June 2nd. The defendant pled guilty to the offense and punishment was decided by visiting Judge Kaycee Jones after a punishment hearing.
In this case, on September 24, 2020, Payton was caught stealing alcohol from Spec’s in College Station. An employee recognized her car as being one involved in multiple liquor thefts around town.
Payton initially denied the theft, but later admitted to it after being shown the surveillance footage.
During the punishment hearing, the State presented evidence of Payton’s extensive criminal history and other pending cases.
Payton was first placed on probation for Theft as a juvenile in 1999. Since then, she has committed multiple other crimes.
in 2001, Payton was placed on probation for stealing from Sears.
That same year, she was convicted of Theft for stealing money from her employer, Jack in the Box, in College Station.
While on probation in both of those cases, Payton stole purses from Dillard’s at the Post Oak Mall, for which she served 120 days in the Brazos County Jail.
She also stole from S Fashion and Beauty, and served 7 months in the state jail as a result of the felony offense.
In 2003, Payton was placed on a 5 year felony probation out of Williamson County for Theft.
In 2009, Payton came back to Brazos County and committed Theft at Target. In 2010, she was sentenced to 90 days in the Brazos County Jail for the theft.
That same year, she was arrested and pled guilty to committing Theft at Macy’s in Harris County.
Payton’s criminal history extends beyond Theft. Payton was convicted of Criminal Mischief in 2002, and Failure to Identify in 2015.