Thieves wanted deal on charges as stolen items were on sale

They sure love a bargain.

Two Colorado men convicted of felony theft for stealing over $2,000 worth of goods from a Kohl’s department store tried to get a deal on a lesser charge — because some of the stuff they stole was on sale.

Michael Green, 50, and Byron Bolden, 37, were formally sentenced this month after being convicted of retail theft at a Kohl’s in Parker, a town about 25 miles southeast of Denver.

They stole brand-name shoes, clothing, and numerous high-end kitchen appliances — getting them nicknamed the “KitchenAid Mixer Crew,” according to prosecutors.

The men, who were identified by the store’s surveillance footage, initially pleaded not guilty.

Then at trial, their “defense attorneys suggested to a jury that their clients should only face a lesser misdemeanor charge because some of the items they stole were being offered ‘on sale,’” the district attorney’s office said.

In Colorado, theft under $2,000 is a misdemeanor while theft between $2,000 and $5,000 is a Class 6 felony. Items the pair made off with totaled $2,094.98.

“Just because an item is ‘on sale’ doesn’t mean it’s free to steal, and these defendants now get to think about this lesson in jail and prison,” District Attorney John Kellner said.

“Retailers in our community are fed up with theft and my office will actively prosecute these offenders.”

A jury ultimately convicted the pair of felony theft.

Green was sentenced to 15 months in prison, but he is currently in the Department of Corrections on a separate conviction. Bolden was sentenced to 90 days in jail with credit for time served as a condition of 18 months of probation.

Retail theft has skyrocketed in recent years, according to data collected in a 2023 National Retail Security Survey by the Loss Prevention Research Council and the National Retail Federation.

Total retail losses due to theft rose to $112.1 billion in 2022, up 19 percent from 2021, when retail losses nationwide totaled $93.9 billion.