The self-described "World's Dumbest Criminal"[1] pleaded guilty today to stealing a lawnmower and a weed trimmer from a 
Walmart in Florida, court records show.
Michael Taber, 46, signed a plea agreement copping to a grand theft charge during an appearance in Circuit Court in Nassau County.
Taber was arrested in late-April after he wheeled a shopping cart out of Walmart without paying for a $258 Snapper lawnmower and a $148 Murray weed trimmer. After driving away with the stolen goods, Taber was pulled over and arrested[2] by a sheriff’s deputy.
Seen above, Taber told the cop he planned to pawn the items, adding that “pain makes you do stupid things.” Taber claimed that he needed to shoplift in order to afford his medications. “Mr. Taber also said he is ‘the world’s dumbest criminal,’” a deputy reported[3].
Taber, a Jacksonville resident, was booked this morning into the Nassau County jail following his plea. Online court records do not indicate whether Taber was sentenced upon entering his plea.
Taber has recently been working at Willard’s BBQ in Jacksonville. In a character reference letter to the court, the eatery’s owner noted that Taber “takes his job serious and does it quite well.”
Taber’s rap sheet includes a 2005 grand theft conviction for which he spent 15 months in state prison.
References
- ^ "World's Dumbest Criminal" (www.thesmokinggun.com)
- ^ arrested (www.thesmokinggun.com)
- ^ a deputy reported (www.thesmokinggun.com)