Last week, a shoplifting suspect in New Mexico named Joe Cabral fled the courtroom after learning retailers and police officials were waiting to testify at his sentencing hearing. Cabral, who has been arrested on shoplifting and burglary-related charges more than twenty times, was scheduled to be sentenced last Monday. As his turn approached, he asked to go to the restroom and walked out of the courthouse once he learned that Albuquerque retailers, police and prosecutors planned to speak at the hearing.
Under a program known as ARAPA (Albuquerque Retailers Asset Protection Association), local retailers join law enforcement and prosecutors to identify repeat offenders who target retailers. Companies and law enforcement often appear alongside prosecutors at sentencing hearings to provide the court with information about the far-reaching impact these offenders have on Albuquerque businesses.
When returning to court last Thursday, Cabral, 41, was sentenced to three years in prison, the maximum he could have received under his plea agreement.
Albuquerque To Crooks – You can run but you can’t hide!