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Authorities announced Thursday that a 40-year-old man pleaded guilty to five felony counts, including organized retail theft, and was ordered to serve prison time and pay restitution.

Juan Ambriz Rincon was sentenced to three and a half years in prison and ordered to pay $300,000 in restitution for stealing more than $1 million from hardware stores across the Southwest, according to a release from the Maricopa County Attorney's Office.

Although the crimes took place in multiple states, “the victim businesses retained MCAO to prosecute the cases here because of MCAO's expertise in organized retail theft cases,” the statement said.

In April, Ambriz Rincon pleaded guilty to five felony charges, including organized retail theft, dealing in stolen property and possession of dangerous drugs.

“Rather than being gainfully employed, this criminal made it his full-time job to steal more than $1 million from retail stores and resell the stolen merchandise,” Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said.

“This generous restitution combined with prison time sends a message to criminals that Maricopa County is not a place where they can get away with committing these types of crimes.”

Shawn Brown, Home Depot's senior manager of organized retail crime, said the company “continues to feel the pressures of organized retail crime across the country.”

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