It's not the donut,. It's the assault. The amount of force and value of the property doesn't matter.That's the lesson currently being learned by Scott A. Masters of Missouri.

Masters, who must have been feeling a bit peckish at the time. slipped a 52 cent donut into his pocket without paying. As he fled the store, he pushed away the clerk who tried to stop him. The push is being treated as a minor assault, which changes what would have been a shoplifting charge to strong-armed robbery. Because of his previous criminal history, Scott could now be facing a 30 year jail term.

That's one expensive donut, especially when we hear that Masters didn't even get to enjoy his ill-gotten gains. He threw the donut away as he fled.

AP