A Jersey City NJ man was sentenced to 18 months in New Jersey State Prison for shoplifting a television from a Raritan NJ Toys ‘R Us.
33-year-old Vincent Salerno was seen on surveillance video removing the 32-inch TV set on January 31, 2012, via a rear fire exit door at the store. According to authorities, Mr. Salerno placed the TV in a car driven by Deanna Catanzaro, his then-girlfriend. On the last day of the trial, Ms. Catanzaro testified against Mr. Salerno.
During the sentencing phase, Mr. Salerno received the maximum penalty for a fourth degree criminal offense.
Likely factoring into the sentence was the fact that Mr. Salerno has several prior convictions, including convictions for burglary and drug-related charges. Additionally, court records show that Mr. Salerno is currently facing charges for shoplifting in Morris County and Hunterdon County.
Remarkably, while en route to the courthouse for the final day of the trial, Mr. Salerno was arrested in Bernards Township NJ for driving with a suspended license and on another outstanding warrant for shoplifting in Sussex County.
For more information, check out the NJ.com article entitled “Hudson County Man Sentenced to Maximum Penalty for Shoplifting TV from Toys ‘R Us.”
