A Georgia prison parolee released from Autry State Prison in southwest Georgia late last month is back behind bars after police said he shoplifted at least $50,000 in merchandise from metro Atlanta stores during his nine days of freedom.
James Luther Maloney Jr., 51, was paroled August 21, after spending three years in prison for a long list of convictions including shoplifting, cocaine possession, theft-by-receiving stolen property and obstruction of a law enforcement officer, according to Georgia Department of Corrections records.
On August 28, Maloney is suspected of stealing merchandise from the Wal-Mart on Chastain Meadows Parkway near Kennesaw, then pulling a knife on loss-prevention personnel who confronted him outside the store, Cobb police Sgt. Dana Pierce said.
Pierce said that later that day, the same person, believed to be Maloney, went into the Sears store at Town Center Mall
“Once again after bypassing all the cash registers, the perpetrator pulled a knife on loss prevention personnel when he was confronted,” Pierce said.
In both instances, the suspect fled in a light blue 1994 Ford Crown Victoria.
On August 30, officers responding to a theft call at Town Center Mall spotted the light blue, 1994 Ford Crown Victoria, which had been reported stolen, parked near the Macy’s store, and arrested Maloney.
Maloney was charged with theft-by-receiving and shoplifting, and is being held without bond in the Cobb County Adult Detention Center.
“Based on an interview with Maloney, detectives also believe that he has taken at least $50,000 worth of merchandise from other metro Atlanta retail stores,” Pierces said.
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