Man accused of hiding in Kmart to steal $76K in jewelry - KFVS12 News & Weather Cape Girardeau, Carbondale, Poplar Bluff

Man accused of hiding in Kmart to steal $76K in jewelry

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KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) -

A Kansas City man is accused of stealing nearly $76,000 in merchandise from a south Kansas City Kmart store, but police said he was caught after making a significant miscalculation.

Marion Hamilton, 54, was charged with second-degree burglary and theft. He is accused of stealing 43 rings, 18 necklaces, 26 earrings and a bracelet. Most still had price tags on them when he was caught, according to court documents.

Hamilton has previously been accused of murder, according to court records.

The crime is almost out of a Hollywood movie.

Police say Hamilton painstakingly and patiently planned his heist at the Kmart at 56th Street and East Bannister Road. Hamilton allegedly hid in a back storage room with plans to grab as much as he could when the store emptied out of customers and employees.

When two female employees stumbled on him, Hamilton pretended to be a worker and was able to make a convincing case, police said.

When he was finally alone, he turned off the main power supply to the business, banking on that he would disconnect the alarm system that would alert authorities. He allegedly snatched a backpack off the shelves and went to scooping up jewelry.

But his actions triggered the store's interior motion detectors and police were summoned to the scene, detectives said.

The first officer didn't initially notice anything amiss. But later he discovered the broken door that Hamilton allegedly fled through.

"They noticed there was glass on the ground going from the inside, out and a sledgehammer.  Then they noticed a subject running away from the front of the store," Sgt. Rodney Gentry said.

Officers caught Hamilton running along a sidewalk near the store, according to court documents. Hamilton was wearing rubber gloves when he was arrested.

The total value of the jewelry was $75,714, according to court documents.

Hamilton allegedly confessed to using a hammer from the store during his crime, according to court documents. Hamilton has 10 felony arrests and six felony convictions for second-degree murder, robbery, stealing and burglary.

It wasn't clear from the court documents if Hamilton was convicted of second-degree murder and when and where that case was.

A spokesman for the Sears Holdings Corporation, which includes Kmart, said "we continue to refine our operations and policies on an ongoing basis."

Copyright2013 KCTV (Meredith Corp.)  All rights reserved.