A Linton man is racking up accusations of theft since last May. There’s now three cases pending against him, all involving thefts from local businesses.

John Stephen Ellis, now 36, Linton, was arrested in early May when LPD Officer Joe Riley was dispatched to AutoZone in Linton after an employee called in about a theft. Ellis was accused of opening a package containing an Energizer phone charger, concealing the charger in his pocket then attempting to hide the packaging behind other items in the store. Ellis allegedly then attempted to leave the store without paying for the charger, but he was stopped by a store employee.

Ellis was charged with theft, a Class A misdemeanor, and later entered into a negotiated plea agreement. On July 31, he was convicted and sentenced to one year in the county jail with 355 days suspended, which he would serve on probation.

By mid-September, a petition to revoke his suspended sentence had been filed alleging he had violated the terms of his probation. A warrant was issued for his arrest and he was taken into custody in mid-November.

During the time he was out on bond or serving on probation, a couple more incidents occurred, and two more cases were filed against him.

One occurred in July when LPD Officer John Agan was dispatched to Walmart in Linton on a report of shoplifting. When Officer Agan arrived, a Walmart Asset Protection Associate (APA) told him he had witnessed Ellis select two items from the automotive department, a jump starter valued at $49.88 and another jump starter valued at $59.87. Ellis allegedly took stickers off two plastic shoeboxes and placed them on top of the stickers on the jump starters. The shoebox stickers had prices of 84 cents each.

Ellis allegedly then went through the self-checkout and rang the items up with the reduced prices then canceled the transaction, put both items in a bag and exited the store. An APA stopped him.

During an interview with Officer Agan, Ellis allegedly admitted attempting to steal the items and video surveillance footage confirmed the details described by the APA.

In this case, Ellis is facing another charge of theft, a Class A misdemeanor.

The third incident occurred in October. LPD Officer Orry Phipps was dispatched to Orscheln Farm & Home in Linton when a manager called in and said a man, later identified as Ellis, had stolen a black Ariat coat.

Store employees said Ellis came into the store, took the coat from the rack and put it on. One of the employees walked down the same aisle as Ellis and said, “Nice coat,” thinking that Ellis would realize the employee had seen him putting the coat on. But Ellis allegedly left that aisle and headed to the front door where he exited without paying for the coat.

At that time, the employees did not know Ellis’ name. So Officer Agan put a lineup together of photographs of six men who matched their description of Ellis and the employee who had spoken to Ellis picked Ellis out of the lineup.

In this case, Ellis is facing the third charge of theft, a Class A misdemeanor.

Ellis has several hearings on his schedule. On December 12, there will be an initial hearing in the third case. On December 18, he’ll be back in court for a hearing in the first case, about a revocation of his suspended sentence. On January 8, there will be a pre-trial conference in the second case.

As of now, he’s still in the Greene County Jail.