Man jailed for 22 years for stealing a television remote

A man who stole a television remote from a common area of an apartment complex has been sentenced to 22 years in jail.

Eric Bramwell, a serial thief, was told he must serve at least half of the sentence before he is eligible for parole.

The 35-year-old, of Chicago, took the remote in August 2015 from the building in Wheaton, Illinois, but dropped a glove on the way out — which detectives found his DNA on.

Prosecutors said that due to his criminal history, he was eligible for 30 years in prison, and that he had allegedly committed similar thefts from nearby apartments.

“Mr Bramwell’s illegal activity and his history have finally caught up with him,” state attorney Robert Berlin said.

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“Regardless of what was stolen, Mr Bramwell repeatedly thumbed his nose at the law.

“He took what he wanted, time and time again, and expected to avoid the consequences.

“That’s not how it works, as Mr Bramwell has now found out.”

According the Chicago Tribune, the judge had already sentenced Bramwell to six months in jail for contempt for using profane language in court.

The incarceration rate of the United States of America is the highest in the world, at 716 per 100,000 of the national population.

The country represents about 4.4 per cent of the world’s population, but houses around 22 per cent of the world’s prisoners.