A Georgia man, convicted on multiple counts connected to the state of Kansas’ first retail fraud case processed under new rules passed by Kansas lawmakers, received his sentence earlier this week in Lyon County District Court.
Dwayne Rhoden of Lithonia, Georgia, was sentenced to 18 months of supervised probation with an underlying prison term of 38 months for any violations. Rhoden was also ordered to pay restitution and have no contact with his fellow defendant in the case, Demetrius Odom of Decader, Georgia.
Rhoden was booked into the Lyon County Jail back in October of last year and later charged with seven counts, including identity theft, criminal use of a financial card and conspiracy to commit criminal use of a financial card. Rhoden and Odom were arrested and charged after involvement in thefts from several liquor stores across Kansas, including four in Emporia.
Odom was also charged with seven counts, four involving identity theft, two for criminal use of a card and one for conspiracy.
Attorney General Kris Kobach has said the case is notable because it marks the first organized retail crime prosecution by his office since a change in state law passed last year. Action by the Kansas Legislature lets prosecutors seek felony charges in retail crimes, including organized crime cases, instead of pursuing minor theft cases.
A month before Rhoden was arrested, Kobach announced the sentencing of 31-year-old Jahzavya White of Stone Mountain, Georgia, to 18 months of probation and nearly $12,000 in restitution by Lyon County Judge Lee Fowler. White was listed as part of “a coordinated scheme to defraud multiple liquor stores in Lyon County,” but the Attorney General’s Office did not state whether White was part of the case involving Odom and Rhoden and there are no official connections on the District Court Public Access Portal.
