Become part of the movement for unbiased, accessible election information. Donate today.
Beer thief sentenced to 8 years in prison
April 24, 2012
JUNEAU, Alaska: In April 2011, the 55-year-old Michael L. Rae crashed a stolen truck into the Alaska Brewing Company's gift shop and made off with $350 worth of beer. One year since the incident, Mr. Rae is now paying the price for his hoppy heist. Last week, Judge Louis Menendez of the Juneau Superior Court sentenced him to eight years and one month in prison. Luckily no one was injured in the incident. Judge Menendez commented, “You used a machine with thousands of pounds of strength of steel and iron to crash into a building, which is remarkable that you didn’t get hurt, or that somebody else didn’t get hurt.”[1]
Menendez determined that due to Mr. Rae’s past criminal history he would be prone to commit another crime if released. Menendez said, “I believe that if you were released today, I would expect you to come back to court in terms of re-offending. The court’s primary consideration in this case is the safety of the public.” In response to this Rae replied, “What are you? A fortune teller or something? A seer?” and went on to imply that the judge’s ruling was based on assumption and not fact.[1]
Mr. Rae intends to appeal his sentence.
See also
Footnotes
| |||||
