An alleged Houston retail theft case involving Carl Torrence raises two related issues: the latest accusation and how Texas treats repeat theft offenses. Police accuse Torrence of taking three pairs of Nike tennis shoes from a Famous Footwear on September 5. FOX 26 Houston reported that he told an employee he was taking the shoes as he left.
Torrence posted a $25,000 bond the same day as the alleged theft, according to FOX 26 Houston, which reported that police were searching for him. The outlet reports Torrence has faced 21 felony theft charges since 2021; 11 resulted in convictions, and he got nine of those charges last year.
A Familiar Pattern at Bath and Body Works
Crime Stoppers of Houston advocate Andy Kahan told FOX 26 that Torrence has not served time in state prison. Kahan also described prior Bath and Body Works thefts involving roughly $1,000 in merchandise, including another visit two days later, according to the station.
Court documents cited by FOX 26 indicate Torrence was part of an organized theft ring. The station reported that he received a nine-day jail sentence on July 13 and was charged with organized retail theft two days after his release.
How Low-Dollar Shoplifting Becomes a Felony
The mechanics behind Torrence's rap sheet trace back to Texas Penal Code § 31.03, which allows theft of property valued under $2,500 to escalate into a state jail felony once a defendant has two or more prior theft convictions, according to McCarty-Larson, PLLC. A separate statute, Texas Penal Code § 31.16, allows organized retail theft charges when someone steals merchandise on two or more occasions within a 180-day span or works with others to overwhelm store security, per Saputo Toufexis.
That same firm notes that legislative changes effective September 1, 2025 now let prosecutors calculate stolen merchandise value using the retailer's posted price plus sales tax, pushing more cases into higher felony punishment tiers. The result is a system that can generate a long string of felony counts for a single habitual shoplifter, even as each individual theft involves relatively low-dollar merchandise.
Felony Charges Piling Up, No State Prison Time for Torrence
In Torrence's case, accumulating felony charges has not meant state prison time; Crime Stoppers of Houston advocate Andy Kahan told FOX 26 that Torrence has not served time in state prison.
A separate Louisiana burglary case is part of Torrence’s history. The Assumption Parish Sheriff's Office said he was arrested in Houston on January 25, 2021, in connection with a 2019 residential burglary in Assumption Parish; that matter is separate from the current retail-theft allegation. St. Mary Now reported that physical evidence tied him to the burglary scene and that he had left the state.
A Small Group Driving Most of the Losses
Crime Stoppers of Houston has reported that the number of defendants charged with five or more felonies in 2025 was more than double the previous year, with more than 100 defendants hitting that threshold.
Houston Shoplifting Counts Have Risen
KHOU 11 Investigates reported that its analysis of Houston Police Department data counted 10,485 shoplifting incidents in 2022, 12,546 in 2023 and 13,937 cases in 2024. These figures, by themselves, do not show how many individuals were involved or what share of incidents involved repeat offenders.
FOX 26 reported lawmakers were expected to consider a change that would make “continuous felony theft” a third-degree felony carrying a penalty of two to 10 years.
Retailers Named in Torrence Allegations
The allegations involving Torrence include the current case involving Famous Footwear and prior Bath and Body Works thefts described by Andy Kahan.
In a separate Houston-area case, an Ulta Beauty bandit was apprehended by Harris County Constable Precinct 4.
