A northwest suburban man has been sentenced to prison for stealing hundreds of cases of Miller beer.
Thomas Gibbons, 48, was sentenced to three years in prison for stealing 1,868 cases of beer, according to the DuPage County State’s Attorney. Gibbons, of Melrose Park, appeared in court Wednesday and pleaded guilty to one count of theft and possession of stolen merchandise.
In October of 2012, 22 pallets, or portable platforms, of beer were stolen from Chas. Herdrich and Son, a distributor located in McHenry, according to prosecutors. Investigators with the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office tracked the missing beer to a warehouse in Bensenville.
Authorities found Gibbons in the cargo area of a rented truck at the warehous with a pallet of beer and a hand operated pallet mover, according to officials. After investigators obtained a search warrant, they found the remaining pallets of beer inside the warehouse.
“This was not a crime of opportunity,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin wrote in a statement. “Mr. Gibbons had a plan. His plan however, did not include getting caught thanks to the outstanding work of the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office.”
Gibbons will begin serving his sentence on Feb. 2, according to prosecutors.
Information on an attorney for Gibbons was not immediately available.
