SALISBURY — A Lexington man convicted this week as a habitual felon will spend up to nine and a half years in prison, Rowan County District Attorney Brandy Cook announced in a press release.
Irvin Claude Finney, 48, was charged January 2011 with felony larceny by removing items from a merchant, being a habitual felon and misdemeanor larceny.
Finney was caught at Kohl’s Department Store off Julian Road after he was observed removing anti-theft inventory tags from some clothing, concealing merchandise and leaving the store, a statement said.
Salisbury Police officers searched Finney and found two pairs of jeans and several pairs of shoes. They also found wire cutters and a pocket knife in Finney’s possession.
He was sentenced to a prison term of between 87 and 114 months. He was also ordered to pay $3,937.50 in court costs and fines. A Rowan County grand jury indicted Finney in May for larceny.
Finney has a lengthy criminal record that includes convictions for possession with intent to sell and/or deliver cocaine, assault by strangulation, and more than 20 counts of misdemeanor larceny.
He also has pending charges in Davidson County that include possession of stolen goods, misdemeanor larceny and obtaining property by false pretenses.
Cook said in her press release that Rowan residents “want repeat offenders such as Mr. Finney taken off of our streets. My office, in conjunction with law enforcement, remains committed to aggressively prosecuting habitual felons in our county.”