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Habitual offender receives 25 years for Ten Mile Grocery heist |
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Thursday, 11 December 2008 |
A Pine Bluff man was sentenced Tuesday to a 25-year term with the Arkansas Department of Correction in conjunction with an Aug. 8 theft at a Lonsdale grocery store.
Benjamin Dewayne Scott was sentenced following his trial in Saline County Circuit Court.
Circuit Judge Gary Arnold followed the jury’s recommendation in determining the sentence for Scott and remanded Scott to the custody of the sheriff for transport to prison.
Prosecuting Attorney Ken Casady said the standard sentencing range for the offense is normally 3 to 10 years in prison, but Scott, 39, is considered a habitual offender. Because Scott had 11 felony convictions on his record, it increased the range from three to 30 years, Casady noted.
According to the Saline County Sheriff’s Office, Scott and Michael Wayne Rayfus, 45, of Pine Bluff entered Ten Mile Grocery on Aug. 8. While Rayfus reportedly was getting directions from from a store clerk, Scott entered the office area and stole money that had been set aside for a deposit. Another store clerk, reported seeing Scott leave the store with something in his hand. She said when she checked the office for the morning deposit, she discovered it was missing.
“They walked straight past the cashier and right into the office,” Capt. Scotty Courtney of the sheriff’s office said. “After they grabbed the cash, they ran out the front and left in a small four-door black car headed toward Hot Springs.”
The clerk then dialed 911, followed Scott to his car and was able to give the license plate number and a description to the dispatcher as the men drove away.
“The two fled down [U.S.] 70 toward Hot Springs,” Courtney said. “We sent out a BOLO (be on the lookout) for the vehicle, and Garland County sheriff’s deputies later found the vehicle matching the description on U.S. 70.”
Courtney said the Saline and Garland County sheriff’s offices, along with the Arkansas State Police, set up a perimeter to search the area. He said the Arkansas Department of Correction also sent tracking dogs to search for the two men.
“Officers then knocked on neighbors’ doors for information,” Courtney said. “One of the neighbors said two men matching the description told him that their car had broken down and asked for a ride.”
Courtney said the person declined to give the two men a ride and the two then left on foot. The tracking dogs later found the two in the woods near U.S. 70 and Danville Road, and officers took Rayfus and Scott into custody. Scott reportedly was found with cash stolen from the store.
The following day, the rest of the money was found hidden under a log in the area where Scott was taken into custody, Casady said. Reportedly, Scott was interviewed by Sheriff’s Detec-tive Jeremy Hammons and confessed to taking the money.
Casady said Rayfus previously pleaded guilty to a charge of hindering apprehension and was sentenced to serve two years with the Department of Correction. He said that Rayfus was released on parole eight days before the crime.
“A lot of folks worked together to make this arrest and get this conviction,” Casady said.
“The speedy response by Detective Hammons and the rest of the sheriff’s department led to a solid case against the defendant on the very day the theft occurred and Marion Loprinzi and Susy Deweerd with Ten Mile Grocery for the way they worked closely with our office to get this conviction.”
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