By Hudson Sangree
hsangree@sacbee.com
A Yolo County man who put cheese down his trousers is facing a life sentence when he goes before a judge next month.
Jurors convicted Robert Preston Ferguson of two counts of petty theft on Jan. 6.
One conviction was for swiping a woman's wallet from a convenience store counter and putting it down his pants.
The other was for stealing $3.99 worth of shredded cheese from the Nugget Market in Woodland.
Officers testified that Ferguson put the cheese in his pants and was apprehended in the parking lot.
Because of a lengthy criminal history that dates back 35 years, including six first-degree burglary convictions, Yolo County prosecutors sought enhancements that elevated the petty theft counts to felonies.
They say 22 years in prison failed to teach Ferguson to obey the law.
Now they're asking a judge to give Ferguson a life sentence under the state's three-strikes law when he comes back to court on March 1.
"Holding the defendant fully accountable will protect society from a repeat criminal offender," prosecutor Clinton Parish wrote in a motion in October.
Defense lawyers have asked the judge to exclude Ferguson's prior offenses in sentencing, saying that the man is mentally ill and has substance abuse problems.
"At bottom, the prosecution's position is simply that because Mr. Ferguson has a criminal record he should be incarcerated for the term of his natural life for allegedly taking $3.99 worth of Tillamook cheese and allegedly taking a wallet the value of which has not been ascertained," public defender Monica Brushia wrote in her brief.
A Yolo Superior Court judge will decide the issue at the March 1 hearing.
Call The Bee's Hudson Sangree, (916) 321-1191.
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.