BEL AIR, Md. — People grab shopping carts and head into the big box stores in Harford County every day, but 33-year-old Jessica Mary Hubbard of Abingdon admitted to police that she would fill her cart and leave without paying over and over making off with more than $7,000 in goods.
“She was stealing every single day to support her habit and that means every single day there was a man or woman in law enforcement going out to write a report, trying to figure out who the suspect was and these cases happen all over the county,” said Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler.
Convicted shoplifter in Harford County to serve 5 years
But in this case, Hubbard pled guilty to a series of charges including organized retail theft expecting she’d spend no more than two years behind bars, but the judge sentenced her to five years instead.
Hubbard’s case comes on the heels of several high-profile commercial thefts in the county in recent months.
A theft ring targeting a vintage guitar at Music Land, jewelry thefts from a UPS customer service center in Aberdeen and even a trio of thieves who stole high-end electronics around the holidays.
RELATED: Three arrested in connection to $15K guitar theft at Music Land in Bel Air
Business leaders say the problem is rampant, and the stiff sentence is necessary.
“The times are tough,” said Harford County Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Angela Rose, “It’s not easy all the way around and so to have a state’s attorney and law enforcement that enforce the law and really do value when the law is broken to hold those people to the letter of the law and make sure they’re getting prosecuted. Absolutely, our businesses very much appreciate that.”
