District Attorney Keith Higgins announces that Armis Stokes, 45, of Nahunta, Georgia, entered a non-negotiated guilty plea today in Glynn County Superior Court to 14 counts of Theft by Shoplifting (13 of them felonies), one count of Felony Fleeing and Attempting to Elude a Police Officer, one count of Misdemeanor Obstruction of a Police Officer and one Misdemeanor count of Theft by Deception.
The evidence showed that between April 2021 and September 2022, Stokes committed multiple shopliftings at Belk’s, Lowe’s, Tractor Supply, Home Depot and Academy Sports, stealing power tools and clothing worth thousands of dollars. In one of those incidents, Stokes engaged in a high speed chase with Glynn County Police Department officers before his capture.
Stokes has an extensive criminal history going back to the 1990s and blamed drug addiction as the root of his problems. Chief Assistant District Attorney Nigel Lush, who prosecuted the case, stated that “While we can all sympathize with anyone who fights the scourge of drug addiction, there comes a point where a person’s repeated crimes dictate the need for a prison sentence. Mr. Stokes was well known to retailers and a one person crime wave. Retail theft costs all consumers in the form of higher prices. Unfortunately this seems to be a growing problem across the country as many retailers discourage loss prevention officers or other employees from physically trying to stop shoplifters.”
Stokes was sentenced in Glynn County Superior Court by Judge Stephen G. Scarlett, Sr., to seven years in prison followed by ten years of probation. He was also banished from the Brunswick Judicial Circuit.
Members of the media with further questions may contact the Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office at 912-554-7200.
