Larry Hefner stole so often from Walmart he got a warning to never come back. Now a Knox County jury is making sure he can't return.
A career criminal with an arrest record that dates to his teen years, the 45-year-old Hefner was convicted Monday in Knox County Criminal Court of burglary. According to the Knox County District Attorney General's Office, jurors only needed 10 minutes to make up their minds in the case.
Hefner is to be sentenced Feb. 28 and is facing as 12-year prison term. Judge Bob McGee will impose sentence.
A grand jury, at the request of the DA's Office, indicted the Knoxville thief for burglary, which usually applies to someone breaking and entering into a business or home. Walmart, which prides itself on its 24-hour operation, was open at the time, prosecutors allege.
On April 13, 2017, a store loss prevention employee saw Hefner stealing merchandise from the Walmart on Clinton Highway. He'd already stolen four times from the business, according to prosecutors, and had been told he couldn't come back.
With his lengthy record, Hefner will face a longer potential term at sentencing.
He's been convicted of more than a dozen misdemeanors, including some for theft as well as trespassing at West Town Mall in West Knoxville and at the Walmart near Millertown Pike and Interstate 640, records show.
A Knox County judge also has warned him to stay out of all Home Depot stores in the area, records show.
He's also been convicted of 16 felonies in Knox, Blount and Anderson counties for aggravated burglary, burglary and theft, according to the DA's Office.
