Boris Alonzo Phillips, photo courtesy of J. Reuben Long Detention Center
An Horry County jury convicted Boris Alonzo Phillips of Shoplifting 3rd or Subsequent Offense Wednesday.
Judge Larry B. Hyman, Jr., sentenced Phillips to seven years in the State Penitentiary.
Phillips has a criminal record dating back to 1996. He had at least 13 prior convictions for larceny, shoplifting, and other property offenses.
Phillips was convicted Wednesday for going into the Sears store at Coastal Grand Mall in Myrtle Beach and stealing a Craftsman Mechanics Tool Set and other Craftsman tools on August 5, 2012.
Phillips was recorded on surveillance video placing the tools into his cart and leaving the store without paying for them.
Had this been Phillips' first offense, he would have only faced up to 30 days in jail but because he is a repeat offender, Phillips faced a stiffer penalty.
"I believe the enhanced penalty for repeat offenders shows that the legislature intends to punish more harshly those individuals who continually disregard the laws of this State and continue to commit the same crimes," said Assistant Solicitor Joshua Holford.
