Iowa man stole $25 worth of steaks, sentenced to 10 years in prison

Jeffrey Short, 45, who told police he was homeless, appeared remorseful during a 30-minute sentencing Monday before Des Moines County District Judge Michael Schilling, who indicated he had no choice but to sentence him to prison.

BURLINGTON, Iowa — A Burlington man turned a shoplifting case into a 10-year prison sentence when he pulled a knife on Hy-Vee store employees as they attempted to stop him from stealing $25 worth of steaks from the store in Feburary.

Jeffrey Short, 45, who told police he was homeless, appeared remorseful during a 30-minute sentencing Monday before Des Moines County District Judge Michael Schilling, who indicated he had no choice but to sentence him to prison.

“I see the severity of the incident,” Short told Schilling, moments before he was sentenced to prison. “I regret what I did, but I can’t change that it happened.”

Investigators said if Short hadn’t confronted employees with the knife during the incident, it was likely he would have been arrested on a shoplifting charge or a misdemeanor theft charge that would not have required jail time.

In ordering him to prison, Schilling followed a plea agreement between Des Moines County Attorney Amy Beavers and James Carter, Short’s public defender, which called for Short to serve five years of his 10-year sentence before becoming eligible for parole or work release.

In exchange for his guilty plea to second-degree robbery and the impending 10-year-prison sentence, Beavers dismissed the original charge of first-degree robbery, which would have required Short to serve 75 percent of a 25-year sentence before becoming eligible for parole.

Under the plea agreement, Short also will have to make restitution to Hy-Vee in the amount of $25 for the steaks.

During Short’s sentencing, Carter asked the court for leniency, saying that what happened that day “was almost comical” if it didn’t carry the prison time associated with it.

“As you are aware, it’s not comical,” Carter told Schilling. “But, based on what happened, if the store employees wouldn’t have pursued him for the distance they did, it probably would have been a shoplifting case.”

During his sentencing, Short told the court he had been using drugs since he was 12 years old and had spent almost one-half of his adult life in state and federal prisons. He told the judge he used synthetic marijuana, heroin and other drugs on a regular basis while he was incarcerated in those prisons.

Short indicated in court he was intoxicated at the time he stole the steaks, which occurred about 2:15 p.m. Feb. 7.

Short told Schilling it wasn’t an excuse but just the truth.

According to court records, Short was arrested after officers were dispatched to the Hy-Vee grocery store at 3140 Agency St. regarding a theft that had occurred.

When officers arrived, they learned a man had entered the store and left without paying for some merchandise. When store employees approached the individual, later identified as Short, he displayed a knife and threatened them. He then fled on foot, traveling east on Burlington Avenue.

Responding officers located Short hiding near bushes in the 500 block of Conrad Street. He was taken into custody without further incident.

Authorities said no one was injured in the incident.

Short has been in Des Moines County Jail since his arrest, unable to post a $10,000 cash bond.

Andy Hoffman is a reporter for The Burlington (Iowa) Hawk Eye.