OC Sheriff warning about Shoplifters

Due to an increased number of shoplifting cases in Oconee County, the Sheriff’s Office is warning residents and businesses to be on the look out.  This week alone, 17 cases are to be heard by a judge.  Oconee County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Jimmy Watt gives details.  “In the last several weeks, we have really seen an uptick in cases of shoplifting and I can tell you because I have spoken to one of the magistrates here in Oconee County, I can tell you that law enforcement and the judicial system are really getting tired and that is the term one of our magistrates used, we are getting tired of seeing these cases come through the court system.” In Walhalla alone, 52 cases have come into the magistrates’ office between October 1 and November 22, compared with numbers in the teens the last few years.   Shoplifters can expect stiffer penalties, adds Watt.  “One thing about it I can tell you by speaking to one of our magistrates personally that they are issuing when someone is brought before them if they do not have the money to pay fines right there at that time in many cases they are going to jail, no question about it.” Magistrates, law enforcement, individuals in lost prevention in the stores are really cracking down on shoplifting.  Watt says if you are caught shoplifting there is a very good chance you will go to jail.