Calif. ‘Coffee Crook’ Gets 19 Years

Calif. ‘Coffee Crook’ Gets 19 Years

source: Associated Press Strange News

A California man dubbed by police the “Coffee Crook” and “Percolator Perpetrator” has been sentenced to 19 years in prison for robbing several Bakersfield coffee shops and businesses at gunpoint.

A Kern County judge also Thursday ordered David Ray Thornburg, 22, to pay restitution ranging from $200 to $1,100 to five of the 11 businesses he robbed.

Thornburg, a former employee of Java Jazz, one of the shops he robbed, pleaded no contest to four counts of robbery in January.

Thornburg said his abuse of the prescription narcotics codeine and Vicodin may have led to the robberies between Nov. 2 and Dec. 26, but “it was no excuse,” according to a probation report.

The heists created a scare among downtown shops. Many owners beefed up security and kept less cash on hand until Thornburg was arrested after a co-worker recognized him from a composite sketch released to the media.

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