At least that's how it would have been reported had today's journalists covered it...
That's the headline. Feeling sympathetic? Wait, there's more (emphasis mine):
What started as a shoplifting and turned into an armed robbery when the suspect revealed a handgun to a loss-prevention officer has resulted in a mandatory sentence of life in prison for a Daytona Beach man.
A jury deliberated for about an hour April 14 before finding Dean Rockmore, 48, guilty of robbery with a firearm, assistant State Attorney Chris Kelly said. Today, Circuit Judge Margaret Hudson found that Rockmore qualified as a prison releasee reoffender and handed down the life sentence, Kelly said.
Rockmore was released from prison Jan. 26, 2009, and committed the robbery about two months later on March 29, according to court documents.
No, Mr Gary Taylor, reporter extraordinaire, this scumbag did not get a life sentence for stealing $4 worth of socks. He got a life sentence for being a repeat offender and ARMED robbery.
Journalism, as we knew it, is dead. Long live the bloggers!