Front Page  »  

Man gets 5 years for snatching tr-tip from SLO grocery

December 14, 2019

Dennis Wheeler

By CCT STAFF

A 30-year-old man was sentenced on Thursday to five years in prison for using a deadly weapon in the theft of $150 worth of tri-tip from the Smart and Final on Johnson Avenue in San Luis Obispo.

In 2018, Dennis Wheeler put more than $150 worth of tri-tip steak into a bag and tried to get away through an emergency exit without paying. A store employee followed Wheeler outside the store, where Wheeler brandished a knife at the employee’s chest.

The Smart and Final employee quickly backed away and Wheeler escaped on a bicycle.

San Luis Obispo police officers recognized a photo of Wheeler, who had two previous convictions. A few hours later, officers arrested Wheeler.

After less than an hour, a jury convicted Wheeler. On Thursday, Judge Hernaldo J. Baltonado sentenced Wheeler to five years in state prison.


Loading...
Related:


8 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

We’ve got to find a way to keep knives away from people like this. He should not have been allowed to purchase a knife! Case in point: look what he did with it!


-5

Dude would have gotten ZERO prison time had he not pulled the knife. As a former correctional officer, it’s my experience criminals for the most part aren’t the sharpest crayon in the box. If he’s in an actual Prison he’ll do at least 70% of his time. County Jail, yeah much less.


7

This gent has far more issues than craving tritip…. he likely needs some Haldol along with the beans , salad and bread . The judge’s sentencing reflects getting him away from the public I think .


4

If I’m going to risk jail for stealing tri-tip, it will not be from Fart and Smile.


4

Marlon Brando’s kid got five years for “Manslaughter“ after shooting someone between the eyes. But this guys Norman Bates glare is probably worth five years.


19

So the jerk gets five years of free lunch, dental care, and a roof over his head (plus however long he’s been locked up at county)…. . ..


3

He’ll get 2 at the most, and it may be what he needs.


8

Yeah at $81k per year to incarcerate what is the big deal?


$400k in cost to the state for $120 bag of Tri-tip. Doesn’t add up.


It’d be cheaper to find him a job and a home….with BBQ.


0