Booze thieves facing felonies

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, September 18, 2018

A man and a woman are accused of stealing expensive liquor in an organized manner from a South Whidbey grocery store last year, according to court documents.

Prosecutors charged James B. Jones, 31, and Tonya L. Blakney, 32, in Island County Superior Court Sept. 14 with organized retail theft in the second degree.

They are both Ohio residents, according to court documents filed in Island County Superior Court.

State law allows prosecutors to charge shoplifters with a felony if the value of a series of thefts over a period of up to 180 days adds up to $750 or more.

If convicted of the charges against them, Jones and Blakney could face more than a year in prison under the standard sentencing range.

Jones and Blakney are accused of working together to steal bottles of liquor from Payless Foods in Freeland in March of 2017.

Surveillance video showed Blakney grabbing bottles from a shelf in the store and walking out the door to a car driven by Jones, according to a police report.

They’re accused of stealing a bottle of Glenlivet scotch and Remy Martin cognac.

The duo was also accused in a separate liquor shoplifting at Payless in the same month, the report alleges.

The value of the stolen liquor from the two cases totaled about $1,300, the report indicates.

The whereabouts of Jones and Blakney are unknown to police, the report says.