SALISBURY — A Rowan County man will spend more than four years in prison after being identified as a habitual felon, according to a news release.

Chad Steven Brown of Salisbury was convicted this week in Rowan County Superior Court of two counts of felony obtaining property by false pretenses and two counts of misdemeanor second-degree trespass, the news release from the Rowan County District Attorney’s Office stated.

Brown admitted to his status as a habitual felon. Judge Joseph N. Crosswhite sentenced Brown to a minimum of 51 months to a maximum of 74 months in prison.

According to the news release:

On Aug. 26 and 27, 2015, officers with the Salisbury Police Department responded to Walmart. The loss prevention officer notified the police officers that he had reviewed surveillance video and noticed that a fraud had occurred on April 4 and 5 of that year.

The loss prevention officer said that on April 4, a white male walked into Walmart, selected a pair of shoes, and then approached customer service for a refund. Customer service issued a gift card in the amount of $69.53.

The next day, the same white male walked into Walmart, selected a vacuum, and then approached customer service for a refund. Customer service issued a gift card in the amount of $254.66.

During the investigation, the white male was identified as Brown, who had been told numerous times that he was banned from Walmart stores located in Salisbury, Kannapolis, Lexington and Concord.

Brown was previously convicted of felony possession of stolen goods and two separate counts of felony obtaining property by false pretenses, among other convictions.

Cook said that if her office had not prosecuted Brown as a habitual felon, he could have received as little as six months in prison.