COLUMBUS – Thanks to career criminals and some changes in state law, the number of shoplifting cases in Columbus has increased dramatically and so has the dollar value of the goods taken, according to data released Thursday by the office of City Attorney Richard Pfeiffer.
The Prosecution Division in Pfeiffer’s office filed a total of 4,590 theft charges in 2015, 11.2 percent more than in 2014 and 69 percent increase over the number in 2008 (see graph).
The total value of stolen merchandise recovered increased 22.7 percent from 2014 to last year, fueled in part to an increase in the number of cases involving thefts over $500, Pfeiffer said. Ohio lawmakers raised the felony theft limit in 2012 so that thefts between $500 and $1,000 are misdemeanors, which have more than doubled in Columbus, according to Pfeiffer’s office.
The percentage of cases filed against serial thieves and professional shoplifters increased from 58 percent seven years ago to 81 percent in 2014, where it remained in 2015. Pfeiffer says four out of five theft cases were carried out by individuals with prior criminal charges.
As a poster child for the serial shoplifter, Pfeiffer offers up Matthew Edward Hamilton of Orient (right).
Hamilton, 31, whose last known address was given as Borror Road, has been charged with theft on at least 21 prior occasions and is currently wanted for stealing about $258 worth of household items from Walmart, including an air conditioner, modem, cookware, air mattress and air pump
He is also being sought on four outstanding arrest warrants, including a felony warrant for receiving stolen property, Pfeiffer said.