Homeless man jailed for 15 years for stealing box of cereal and milk

A homeless man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after trying to steal a box of Lucky Charms and a can of milk from a Walgreens in Lakeland.

During a sentencing hearing last month, Mark Anthony Griffin mumbled that he didn't have much to say.

"I guess the State Attorney just got it out for me," he said.



Prosecutors requested Griffin be sentenced as a "prison releasee reoffender."

The designation intensifies the punishment against defendants convicted of certain crimes within three years of being released from prison.

In Griffin's case, he was released in December 2007 from prison for burglary and grand theft, records show.