PORTLAND — A federal judge on Thursday sentenced a Jamaican man involved in the theft of tools from a Home Depot in Auburn and in other New England states to time served.
Bunny Hibbert Androscoggin County Jail
Bunny Hibbert, 37, spent 14 months behind bars awaiting the outcome of his case.
In addition to the sentence, Chief U.S. District Court Judge Jon D. Levy ordered Hibbert to pay $115,666.63 in restitution to Home Depot.
Hibbert pleaded guilty in February to conspiracy to possess/sell interstate stolen goods, a Class D felony that’s punishable by up to five years in prison.
He was expected to be turned over to the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers after Thursday’s sentencing.
From October 2018 through February 2019, Hibbert, and two accomplices stole merchandise from Home Depot stores in five New England states, including a store in Auburn, Maine, then drove the pilfered goods to New York City area where they would sell them online, according to prosecutors. The stolen items included power tools and generators.
Had the case gone to trial, prosecutors said, evidence against Hibbert would have included electronic surveillance footage from various store locations, coupled with eyewitness testimony, data from an online marketplace site and electronic communications, according to court records.
Authorities arrested Hibbert and a co-defendant in Auburn on Feb. 21, 2019, when they tried to steal items from the Home Depot, according to court records.
Co-defendant Jose Avila, 32, of Brooklyn, New York, is charged with the same crime. His trial is pending in federal court.
Last month, Levy wrote in a court order in reference to Avila’s case: “In light of the global outbreak of COVID-19 and its far-reaching impact on public health, the Court finds that a continuance in this case is necessary to reduce any exposure to the disease.”
The U.S. Secret Service and the Auburn Police Department investigated the case.
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