Jury finds Snyder man guilty of theft

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A 132nd District Court jury wasted little time finding a Snyder man guilty of a November 2016 theft.

The six-man, six-woman jury deliberated slightly more than 30 minutes before finding Thomas Alonzo Jr. guilty of state jail felony theft in connection with a Nov. 28, 2016 incident at Gebo’s on College Ave.

Alonzo, who is not eligible for probation, will face a possible sentence of between 180 days and two years in a state jail facility. District Judge Ernie Armstrong will sentence Alonzo at a later date.

Trial testimony showed that Alonzo and a small child entered Gebo’s around noon on Nov. 28 and spent several minutes browsing the aisles. Store manager Billy Smith said he helped Alonzo with possible selections before returning to the cash register to assist other customers.

Smith said Alonzo and the child spent several more minutes in the store before they left without purchasing anything. As they were leaving, the store’s security alarm sounded, alerting Smith to possible shoplifting.

Soon afterward, Smith said he stepped outside the store to locate Alonzo and saw him and the child entering a vehicle to leave the premises.

Smith testified that he then viewed security camera footage and saw Alonzo apparently take some caps off a display rack and place them inside his jacket. Footage from the camera outside the store showed a red item inside Alonzo’s jacket that Smith testified was one or more of the store’s Cinch brand caps.

A quick check of the store’s cap inventory showed that three such caps, with a total value of $91, was missing and Smith called the police, he said.

Snyder Police Department Sgt. Kyle Burleson testified that he responded to the theft call and was shown a photo of Alonzo and the child leaving the store. Burleson said he was able to identify the child because the boy was his fiance’s nephew. Burleson then showed the photo to a family member, who identified Alonzo.

Theft under $100, which is normally a misdemeanor offense, was enhanced to state jail felony status because Alonzo had twice previously been convicted of theft, once in November 2002 in Travis County and the other time in October 2015 in Taylor County. Copies of both convictions were entered into evidence, as well as a signed statement from Alonzo admitting to the convictions.

Defense attorney Sam Darnall, who rested his case without calling any witnesses, argued before the jury that the state’s evidence was inconclusive.

“Viewing the evidence, you just can’t get all the way beyond a reasonable doubt,” Darnall said. “All that the evidence really shows is that my client entered the store and did a lot of shopping and handled a lot of merchandise.”

Pointing at the crucial photo of Alonzo and the child exiting the store, Darnall said the red item could have been anything.

“If you showed that photo to anyone outside this courtroom and asked them what that red item was, they’d say, ‘I don’t know,’” he said. “The photo just doesn’t show enough to convict my client of theft.”

Countering Darnall was District Attorney Ben Smith, who told the jury that the evidence was more than enough to convict Alonzo.

“All of the elements of this offense have been proved beyond a reasonable doubt,” Smith said. “We have proved more than enough to convict Mr. Alonzo of this offense.”

In conclusion, Smith urged the jury to return a guilty verdict in the case.

“I often have people around town asking me, ‘When are we going to do something about all the thieves in this community?’” he said. “We have done all we can to hold people like Mr. Alonzo accountable. You 12 people are the only ones now who can do something about it.”

Armstrong has scheduled a pre-sentencing hearing for Alonzo at 9 a.m. Thursday. The judge will then await a sentencing report from a supervision officer before passing sentence in the case.