There was really “no place like residence” for a 76-year-old terminally unwell thief trying to get in a single final heist earlier than he died.
Terry Jon Martin, a former mobster, admitted to stealing the famed ruby slippers in 2005 from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. The footwear have been worn by Judy Garland within the 1939 basic, “The Wizard of Oz.”
Martin ended up chucking the footwear two days later after realizing the “ruby” slippers weren’t precise gems — and thought he could not make a revenue. He didn’t know the footwear have been insured for $1 million.
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Martin’s protection lawyer, Dane DeKrey, defined in a sentencing memo on Monday that earlier than stealing the footwear, Martin hadn’t dedicated against the law in over a decade. However, he mentioned, an unidentified former buddy wanted assist stealing the slippers, and Martin admitted he couldn’t resist.
“At first, Terry declined the invitation to take part within the heist. However previous habits die laborious, and the considered a ‘closing rating’ stored him up at night time,” DeKrey wrote. “After a lot contemplation, Terry had a legal relapse.”
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Martin is at the moment on hospice and is predicted to reside one other six months, leaving his authorized group to plead for no jail time.
“Martin is on oxygen always,” the memo said. “A medical dedication was made that Martin’s sickness is terminal, and his life expectancy is lower than six months.”
Martin pleaded responsible to theft final October. His formal sentencing is ready to happen on January 29.
