A Niles man’s pleas for leniency went unanswered after he was caught stealing money and a checkbook from purses at a local library.

During sentencing hearings Monday at Berrien County Trial Court in Niles, 33-year-old Lamont McClinton asked Judge Dennis Wiley not to send him to prison on one count of felony uttering and publishing.

“I hope you recommend probation, tether or county time,” he said.

Wiley told McClinton that he could not justify wasting the state’s limited resources on a person who continues to break the law.

“You went to prison and were barely out the door on parole when you

committed this crime,” Wiley said. “You don’t want to be rehabilitated. Unfortunately, you do what you want to do and other people suffer.”

Wiley sentenced McClinton to 16 months in the Michigan Department of Corrections, prompting McClinton to shake his head and look around the courtroom in disbelief before being escorted by police out of the room.

According to court documents, police responded to a complaint from two women who said a total of $355 had been taken from their purses on July 19 at the Niles District Library. One of the victims also said her checkbook was missing.

Two days later, video surveillance at a Niles bank showed McClinton attempting to cash a check written out to himself from a stolen checkbook.

McClinton admitted to police he stole the items from the purses, but said a 14-year-old boy had planned the crime, according to court documents.

Nancy Studebaker, library director, said this type of crime does not happen often at the library.

“This is the first time in 12 years that we have had a patron say someone took money from them while they were at the library,” she said.

Also Monday:

• Kyle Collinsworth, 17, of Niles, was sentenced to 13 months in prison on one count of attempting to receive or conceal a stolen vehicle. According to court documents, he was in a stolen vehicle that crashed into a mobile home at Franklin Woods mobile home park in Niles Township on July 3.

• Steven Duncan, 48, of Niles, a registered sex offender, was sentenced to a year in prison for failing to report a change of address.

• Julia Novotny, 19, of Mesa, Arizona, was placed on probation for 18 months for stealing the identity of a family member in order to wrongfully obtain money.

• Robert Herr was sentenced to 90 days in jail and 24 months on probation on one count of uttering and publishing.