A repeat offender has received the maximum sentence after being found guilty of burglary for the third time.

District Attorney Tony Buckley said Wednesday Johnny McInnis was found guilty in Jones County Chancery Court of the burglary of a dwelling in October 2007.

“He broke into a house on 32nd Street in Laurel,” Buckley said. “We got it tried quickly.”

Buckley said the victim was an elderly lady who is in her 80s. He said McInnis went into the woman’s house and stole her purse. Buckley praised Laurel Police Dept. Sgt. Shannon Caraway for her quick work in October. Without Caraway’s quick action, Buckley said, McInnis might have escaped from the neighborhood.

“She was just a block away,” Buckley said. “She was able to capture him quickly.”

Buckley said Investigator Michael Reaves also helped tremendously in the case. Since McInnis has two prior convictions of burglary to a dwelling, Buckley requested and Judge Billy Joe Landrum granted a mandatory sentence of 25 years.

“He’s not going to bother any more old ladies for a very long time,” Buckley said.