80-Year-Old 'Cat Burglar's' Last Heist in Half Century of Crime

Feb. 26, 2010 — -- For the better part of a century, 80-year-old Doris Thompson has made a life on the wrong side of the law.

Thompson, from Los Angeles, proudly pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three years in prison for burglary Wednesday, rounding out a worn rap sheet that was started when Dwight D. Eisenhower was president.

Thompson was arrested Feb. 4 for burglarizing a pediatrician group's office of everything from cash to stamps in late December. According to deputy assistant district attorney Paulette Paccione, Thompson offered no defense and tried to plead guilty at her arraignment.

"She said, 'I do these things. I plead guilty. I do my time like a lady,'" Paccione told ABC News.

Thompson's first known arrest in 1955 was for disturbing the peace. What followed was a 55-year crime spree that included 34 arrests, nine prison sentences and the use of 26 aliases. Thompson has been convicted of several thefts, a forgery and even a prison escape -- she snuck out in 1984 while serving a 30-day sentence. She returned the next year after a petty theft conviction.

"She's been involved in the criminal justice system for a very long time," said Sgt. Jeremiah Hart of the Torrance, Calif., police department. "Definitely a different one... and I'm sure there's more that she's gotten away with."

Nearly six decades after her first arrest, Thompson is nice as can be, even when she's caught, Paccione said.

"She's not malicious or anything. This is just what she does," she said with a chuckle. "In the courtroom she was very matter-of-fact. There was no remorse. It was like, 'This is who I am.' But not in a bad way.

"In all the years I've been doing this, she stands out."

When she was sentenced to three years, Paccione said Thompson thanked the judge and told the court she deserved much worse.