By Greg Forester, Staff Writer
PRINCETON – A Philadelphia man who stole a woman’s wallet while she dined at a downtown Princeton eatery in the summer of 2007 and used her credit cards at Lowe’s in West Windsor was sentenced to 15 years in prison Monday.
Michael Grantham, 41, must serve at least seven and a half years under the rules of the sentence, handed down in state Superior Court in Trenton.
Ten years of the sentence are for the theft, which occurred in the Panera Bread store.
Mr. Grantham received an additional five years for aiding and abetting a female accomplice.
The accomplice used the credit cards to purchase two $1,000 gift cards and bug spray from Lowe’s, according to Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor Jeffrey Rubin.
Mr. Grantham has nine prior convictions in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, which allowed prosecutors to seek a 10-year sentence instead of the usual three- to five-year sentence for such crimes, according to Mr. Rubin.
Mr. Rubin praised the work of the Princeton Borough and West Windsor police departments in solving the crime.
”These kinds of cases are tough for police departments,” said Mr. Rubin. “Both Princeton Borough and West Windsor did great jobs and should be commended.”
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