A Rochester, New York, man charged by the Pennsylvania State Police with being involved in an organized retail theft ring that hit Walmart stores in Erie and two neighboring counties in 2018 was sentenced in Erie County Court on February 22 to serve 11½ to 23 months in county prison.
Darin L.Thompson, 31, was sentenced by Judge John J. Mead on Thompson’s guilty pleas to a second-degree felony count of organized retail theft and to felony and misdemeanor counts of retail theft. Other charges, including a first-degree felony count of corrupt organizations, were dropped by prosecutors under an agreement that led to Thompson’s guilty pleas in October.
Mead additionally sentenced Thompson to a consecutive term of three years on probation, to perform 150 hours of community service and to pay more than $25,000 in restitution.
State police charged Thompson and fellow Rochester resident Todd Jackson, 23, in August 2018 in an investigation into a series of retail thefts that occurred at Walmart stores in Erie, Crawford and Bradford counties between May and June of that year. Troopers charged that a group of out-of-state suspects targeted 24-hour Walmart stores and stole plastic storage tubs that they filled with printer cartridges and other electronic items. Jackson was sentenced in January 2020 to serve nine to 23 months in county prison after he pleaded guilty to charges including organized retail theft…Â GoErie.com