MINDEN - A 21-year-old Carson City man admitted Friday he stole a $70 pair of tennis shoes, but said it was because the pair he was wearing were infecting his feet.
John Lampe pleaded guilty to misdemeanor theft and was ordered to make restitution for the stolen shoes by Nov. 8.
He was arrested in Fuji Park on Tuesday after witnesses saw him take the shoes from Famous Footwear at Carson Valley Plaza and leave on his skateboard.
"Whoever owned the shoes I had on, they had something wrong," Lampe told Senior Justice Steven McMorris. "Whenever I wore those shoes, they would dry out my feet and they would crack and bleed."
Lampe said he didn't have money to pay for new shoes.
Deputies were called to the store at 2:15 p.m. Tuesday after the suspect walked out wearing DC-brand shoes and was seen leaving on a skateboard.
Employees identified the thief as Lampe. He left the worn-out shoes he wore into the store in the box from which he took the new pair.
When a deputy caught up with him at the fish pond in Fuji Park, Lampe was wearing the new shoes.
When he was booked at Douglas County Jail, the new shoes were taken as evidence and his old shoes returned to him.
He had been jailed on $25,500 bail on suspicion of burglary and theft, but was charged with a misdemeanor.
McMorris sentenced him to three days in jail with credit for time served.
Lampe had a probation hold in Carson City and was awaiting pickup Friday from the Douglas County Jail.