Jury convicts James Wilkins of Target theft; judge sentences him to one year in county jail

A jury in the 187th District Court of Bear County on Wednesday found James William Wilkins guilty of theft under $2,500 after a trial that centered on surveillance footage, a Target training receipt and fingerprint comparisons.

The state's case relied on video and witness testimony showing a man allegedly take multiple electronics and other items from the Target store at 746 Northwest Loop 410 on July 5, 2024, then exit through a rear fire door. Target security specialist Chloe testified she watched the subject select groceries and large electronics on surveillance, “stage” items in a small basket outside, then return with a full shopping cart that contained drones, a large suitcase and other merchandise before leaving through an emergency exit without paying. Chloe told the jury the training receipt and surveillance footage together documented the recovered items and their pre-tax total of $689.29 (about $740 with tax).

The state also introduced testimony from San Antonio police officers who located and detained the defendant near the scene, and from a custodian-of-records/fingerprint examiner, Mr. Martinez, who compared prints taken from Wilkins during the current proceedings to fingerprints associated with earlier court documents. Martinez testified the prints matched, and the prosecution introduced certified judgments and related records to prove two prior theft convictions that the indictment alleged would enhance the current charge.

Defense counsel repeatedly challenged the foundation for the prior-judgment evidence, arguing that one prior judgment lacked an in‑place fingerprint or independent live testimony to show the defendant was present when the earlier case was decided. The judge overruled those objections after the custodian of records authenticated cause numbers, SID identifiers and the chain of custody for the drop-card/fingerprint records.

In closing, the state argued the combined surveillance, receipt and fingerprint evidence met the burden of proof; the defense urged jurors to find reasonable doubt on the priors and the foundation for those records. The jury retired and returned a unanimous guilty verdict on the single count.

At the punishment phase, the parties presented an agreed recommendation. The court sentenced Wilkins to one year in the Bear County Jail, gave credit for time served, ordered no contact with Target, and advised the defendant he cannot possess weapons as a consequence of the felony conviction. The court reviewed the trial court certification of the defendant’s right to appeal; the defendant waived that right as part of the proceedings.

The judge who presided over the trial is Judge Stephanie Boyd of the 187th District Court, Bear County.

Court documents and testimony show the primary pieces of evidence were the surveillance footage, the Target training receipt listing and valuing the items, body-worn camera screenshots, and the fingerprint comparisons offered to establish prior convictions. The jury’s guilty verdict and the one‑year sentence conclude the trial phase of the case, with the formal appeal period controlled by the waived certification the court reviewed.