Repeat York County felon who stole beer, 4-wheeler sentenced to 12 years

John Kenneth Massey Jr. appears to be a man of habit. For Massey, the habits include stealing, getting caught, getting convicted, and going to prison, according to police and prosecutors and judges and court records in York County.

Massey returned to the place he has been so many times – the courtroom at the Moss Justice Center in York. This time he was accused of stealing a four-wheeler and damaging a hose Massey allegedly used to haul off the four-wheeler.

In April Massey was convicted of stealing five cases of Bud Light beer. He was sentenced to three years in prison for stealing the beer. Prosecutors asked for 10 years because Massey was a habitual property crime felon. Massey asked for mercy and just five years.

The judge decided on three years because it was just shoplifiting of beer.

Because Massey had been in jail for so long waiting for trial in April, he maxed out on the sentence a couple of months ago.

Pending charges against him were piled up, so the prosecutor, Matthew Hogge, who had convicted Massey of stealing the beer, brought Massey back to court for the 4-wheeler theft.

Massey fired his public defender before the trial started Monday before Judge Paul Burch, a visiting judge from Chesterfield County.

In opening and closing arguments Hogge said Massey blamed racial profiling by police, claiming he was the Freddie Gray, the Baltimore black man who died in custody, and Sandra Bland, a Texas black woman arrested and later found hanged in her cell, of York County.

Hogge objected when Massey brought up Gray during his trial, and Judge Burch told Massey to stop comparing himself to others before the jury.

Massey then blamed the police dog that tracked him, saying the dog was not trained to track him. He put a picture of his own rear end that he claims has cancer into evidence, Hogge said.

The jury listened to it all.

But the jury also heard the prosecutor introducing evidence from the police who caught Massey at 5 a.m. with the four-wheeler.

The jury deliberated and in short order unanimously convicted Massey of grand larceny for the the four-wheeler and malicious damage to property for the hose.

It was time for sentencing.

Hogge toldthe judge about Massey’s criminal record.

“1997,” said Hogge referring to Massey’s first conviction.

Hogge then took a deep breath because the years 2002, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2012, and 2015 followed, showing other convictions for things such as conspiracy, larceny, fraudulent use of money not belonging to Massey. Hogge ended with the stolen beer.

Burch sentenced Massey to 10 years for the four-wheeler, and two years for the malicious damage to the hose used to haul it.

Massey still faces a burglary charge for a different incident.

This story was originally published December 5, 2015 at 6:35 PM with the headline "Repeat York County felon who stole beer, 4-wheeler sentenced to 12 years."