Bedford man convicted in regional cigarette theft conspiracy

A Bedford man accused in a regional cigarette theft conspiracy was convicted in a jury trial here Tuesday. Keith Lamont Hill, 55, is not a typical thief. Tuesday’s trial was not a typical jury trial. Hill’s case drew attention as his capture relied heavily on the warrantless tracking of his movements by a GPS device attached to his car in the 2010 investigation. A Supreme Court ruling in January in a similar case ruled the placement of such a device falls under the Constitution’s protections against unreasonable search and seizure.

 Hill will not get the benefit of that ruling, at least not now. He also drew attention because he unhesitatingly insisted on serving as his own lawyer — now with a 0-4 record. Charged in cigarette theft cases in Botetourt, Franklin and Campbell counties and the cities of Salem and Lynchburg, he now stands convicted in all but Lynchburg. Before the January Supreme Court ruling, judges in all but Campbell County and Lynchburg ruled the placement of the GPS tracker did not require a warrant.

Existing case law said the placement was not a search or seizure as long as the device was placed while the vehicle was parked on a public street. Since January, the remaining two judges have ruled investigators acted in good faith and while a warrant may be required now, it wasn’t under the law two years ago. He appealed those decisions in the earlier cases and plans to do as much with this one, he said Tuesday.

 Hill came under suspicion in late 2010 when investigators, starting in Botetourt County, began noticing a pattern of cigarette-theft crimes at grocery and convenience stores. In all cases, the perpetrator would cut a hole in the wall of the store and take nothing but cigarettes. On Sept. 27, 2010, less than two weeks after investigators put the GPS tracker on his car, the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office got a familiar call. In her testimony before Tuesday’s jury, Nancy Franklin described her surprise when she came to work that morning to open the Food Lion supermarket just south ofLynchburgon U.S. 29.

 “There was a big hole in the side of the building,” Franklin, the store manager, testified. “I could actually see inside the building.” Nothing was missing, save 180 cartons of cigarettes, she said. Meanwhile, Lt. John Mandeville of the Botetourt County Sheriff’s Office was on his way to Rustburg to meet with others working the regional investigation. With him, he carried a report of every location Hill’s car stopped for the last 11 days. Mandeville information confirmed the car had been sitting in the vicinity of the Campbell County supermarket for a little more than an hour around 2:30 that morning, he testified.