A notice to thieves from the Prince George’s County state’s attorney: Steal from the library and they’re going to throw the book at you.
A Baltimore woman will spend a year in prison for withdrawing thousands of dollars in library books and reselling them.
Evelyn Whye, 53, obtained a Prince George's County library card and went to work. In December 2008, she spent three days hitting various libraries, and she wasn't looking for Dr. Seuss. Whye was after expensive text books, the kind that can break a college student's bank account.
Whye took 76 books worth more than $9,000 and sold them to used book stores in other jurisdictions.
Whye was caught after she took out the same text book -- "Concepts in Biology" -- with the same library card from four different libraries on the same day.
"She deprived our citizens of text books they sorely need and took resources from our county," Prince George's County State's Attorney Angela Alsobrooks said. "For that she was convicted by a jury, who came back fairly quickly and decided that this behavior was intolerable."
Whye was sentenced to 15 years, with 14 years suspended. She also must pay to replace the books.
