There was really “no place like house” for a 76-year-old terminally sick thief seeking 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 had 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 had been insured for $1 million.
Associated: Man Charged for Stolen ‘Wizard of Oz’ Ruby Slippers
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 However outdated habits die onerous, and the considered a ‘last rating’ saved him up at night time,” DeKrey wrote. “After a lot contemplation, Terry had a legal relapse.”
Martin is presently on hospice and is anticipated to reside one other six months, leaving his authorized staff to plead for no jail time.
“Martin is on oxygen always,” the memo acknowledged. “A medical willpower 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 about to happen on January 29.
