Mere hours after being convicted of multiple shoplifting charges, Huntsville City Councilman Devyn Keith appeared to claim he was innocent of stealing from several Walmarts despite what he agreed to in court.
Keith signed an agreement Tuesday pleading guilty to two counts of fourth-degree theft of property related to his arrest in February after he was accused of shoplifting from Walmarts in Huntsville. Two other theft charges were dropped.
Keith was given a 90-day suspended sentence concurrent with two years of probation on one charge and a 180-day suspended sentence on the second charge combined with 50 hours of community service. He has also been ordered not to visit any Walmart store during his two-year probation period.
After Tuesday's trial, Keith posted several comments on X regarding his case. Though he admitted he was "negligent" and "wrong" for "failing to scan" the items he was accused of stealing, he claimed it was never his intent to shoplift.
"The definition of stealing has intent," Keith posted on X. "I like many (I respect that maybe you never have), have left with things in my cart that were not paid for through negligence. I unlike many was stopped for it and held accountable. I unlike many can be man enough to stand in that."
Keith's social media defenses echoed his earlier public statement, where he again claimed negligence over malicious intent.
"Now, the agreement that was reached today acknowledges that I was negligent, and I was careless in scanning items, and that, in fact, makes me wrong," he stated. "Therefore, because I was wrong, from the beginning, I expressed to the State that I would pay full restitution for those items including additional fees… Nevertheless, the agreement does hold me accountable for my negligence in the past year. A failure to scan items such as Skittles, butterfingers, and $20 headphones, if I didn't pay for an item, I am wrong. It was never my intent to not scan these items."
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email daniel.taylor@1819news.com.
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