Habitual felon gets 99 years for stealing cellphone

Felon with long rap sheet gets 99 years for stealing cellphone
at 18:56 on July 11, 2005, EST.

WACO, Texas (AP) - A convicted felon who went on profanity-laced tirades in court and told jurors he didn't care if they gave him life in prison was sentenced to 99 years for stealing a cellphone.

Jurors deliberated about 15 minutes before convicting Glenn Reed of robbery Thursday.

Reed, 31, was convicted as a habitual criminal because he had prior felony convictions for injury to an elderly person and robbery, which bumped the minimum sentence from five to 25 years. He also had 15 misdemeanour convictions dating to 1991.

Reed testified during both phases of the trial, swearing and telling jurors he didn't care if they sent him to prison for life.

"There's things I choose to do, like, if I go in a store and choose to take a Snicker's bar," Reed testified. "If you catch me, you catch me. If not, I'm going to go home and eat it up and go on about my business, dog."

At one point, he made an obscene hand gesture toward a retired Texas Ranger who testified against him. Reed had tried to rob the officer four years earlier but was overpowered by him.

In the cellphone incident, the owner had another phone with him and called the missing cellphone's number as he walked up the street. He could hear its distinctive Aggie War Hymn ring coming from Reed's pocket, so he followed him and demanded the phone back.

Reed gave back the phone but then hit the owner several times.

Prosecutors had offered Reed a 15-year plea deal before trial, but he rejected it.

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