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(MaryAnn Spoto/The Star-Ledger)

LINDEN — Rahway mayoral candidate James Devine was found guilty tonight of stealing more than $20 worth of items from a city grocery store.

Municipal Court Judge Cassandra Corbett found that Devine intentionally concealed two bags of prewashed lettuce, a protein supplement and hair conditioner on a July 19, 2013, trip to the local ShopRite without planning to pay for them.

“I do find that Mr. Devine…did conceal the items… and so I therefore find Mr. Devine guilty of shoplifting,” she said.

After court, Devine vowed to appeal, saying the surveillance video tape of the incident shows he didn’t intentionally conceal the $22.47 worth of items.

He called the ruling “ludicrous.”

“It’s a miscarriage of justice that I find inexplicable,” he said.

Corbett could have sentenced him to jail time or community service, but because it was his first shoplifting offense, she said she would fine him $200. She also imposed another $158 in court costs and fees.

Corbett said Devine had the items in a Pathmark shopping bag and was convinced that he didn’t plan to pay for them because they were on the side of the cashier’s conveyor belt that holds items for which customers were already charged.

She said the videotape shows him checking his receipt, putting it in his wallet and walking out the first set of doors before he was confronted by a security officer.

But Devine said the cashier moved the bag of items to the other side of the conveyor belt without scanning them while he was distracted looking through his coupons.

He said he put the items in the bag while shopping because his hands were full and then put the bag in an unused cart he found near the bank of cashiers.

Devine said his political opponents will now use this “mistake” to try to portray him in the campaign as someone who cannot be trusted.

If they exploit this incident, he said, it will be because they are trying to distract voters from the real issues in Rahway, such as gun violence and inflated property value assessments.

Before Corbett imposed sentence, Devine’s attorney, Billy Delgado, asked for the minimum penalty because “the embarrassment and the experience itself has been tremendous punishment.”

Delgado noted the presence of a newspaper reporter “who’s going to make sure that this is flashed all over the world tomorrow.”

RELATED COVERAGE

• Rahway mayoral candidate goes to court in Linden to fight shoplifting charge

• Rahway political consultant, online blogger, charged in Linden shoplifting

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