WINTON – An Ahoskie man with a laundry list of previous felony arrests and convictions will spend significant time behind bars.

Last week, 44-year-old Theodore Roosevelt Spivey of 108 Bertie Park Lane was found guilty by a jury in Hertford County Superior Court as a habitual felon for his two most recent felony breaking and entering charges. Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Quentin Sumner from Nash County presided over the trial and sentenced Spivey to 222 months to 292 months (18.5 to 24.3 years) in the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections.

Spivey’s latest charges, which prompted the jury trial, came after he broke into Dixon Cleaner’s at 406 East Main Street on Nov. 3 of last year and stole money. Three days later he broke into the Hertford County Department of Social Services located at 220 North Mitchell Street in Ahoskie and stole computers and power cords. In both cases, Spivey was charged as a habitual felon based on his prior record, which dates back to 2001.

After the verdict was taken at last week’s trial, District Attorney Valerie Asbell, who represented the State of North Carolina, presented the criminal record of Spivey and asked Judge Sumner to give him a lengthy prison sentence because of his criminal history.

“Mr. Spivey had a long prior criminal history consisting of convictions for breaking and entering,” Asbell commented. “Mr. Spivey has been found guilty of 25 counts of breaking and entering and larceny in 2001; three counts of breaking and entering and larceny in 2002; one count of breaking and entering in 2005; three counts of breaking and entering and larceny in 2007; felony larceny and safecracking in 2009; and three counts of felony breaking and entering and larceny in 2014.

Asbell added that since 2001, Spivey has spent over seven years in prison for those offenses from which he was previously found guilty.

“And when he wasn’t in prison, he was on probation or parole for these offenses,” Asbell noted. “Each time Mr. Spivey would get out of prison, he would be charged and convicted of another breaking and entering case within three to eight months. It was a non-ending cycle with Mr. Spivey.”

Asbell continued by saying, “Habitual felons along with other violent offenders remain a top focus for my office and the community we live in. Our homes are our safe havens and people have a right to feel safe there. Once your home is ever broken into, a person never feels safe there again. Our office will continue to prosecute individuals and request substantial active sentences for those people who habitually break the law. I think the 18 to 24 year active sentence was very appropriate for Mr. Spivey’s conduct and history.

“I want to thank Chief Troy Fitzhugh and the Ahoskie Police Department for their hard work on this case. I also want to especially thank Major Jimmy Asbell and Detective Justin Farmer (both of the Ahoskie Police) for their professionalism and excellent investigation during this case,” Asbell concluded.

“I would like to express that I commend my staff for an outstanding, professional job that gave the State of NC the evidence to place a recidivist Theodore R. Spivey back into NC DOC. The active time that he received for the crimes he committed is justice. Justice for the victims; justice for the State of NC; and justice for the Ahoskie Police Department,” Fitzhugh stated.

Spivey was represented by Attorney Sam Webb of Roanoke Rapids at the trial.

According to the Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald archives, which date back to 2003, all of Spivey’s previous arrests were for break-ins and larcenies of businesses and motor vehicles in the Ahoskie and Windsor areas.