Bethleham, PA – James Maurice Barker, 45, was sentenced to six months to a year in prison at the Northampton County Prison and fined $750 for yelling, berating and threatening a Wal-Mart greeter who asked to see his receipt.

“I’m only a human being. I’m flawed, I made mistakes,” Barker said as he cried during his sentencing. “I just want to live my life.”

Barker claims he was working on an album with the Motown record label, and was visiting from the West Coast when he decided to take his two teenage sons shopping.

They drove around in a limo. Barker purchased around $1,000 worth of electronics from Wal-Mart and were taking the purchases out in a shopping cart when the store greeter approached them and asked to see the receipt.

Feeling “disrespected”, Barker started yelling and used expletives 20 to 30 times during his tirade.

After the confrontation, Barker and his sons left in the limo, which police eventually tracked down and found cocaine and a glass bong in the vehicle.

 LINK TO FOLLOW-UP STORY:

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/bethlehem/index.ssf/2011/04/man_pleads_guilty_to_yelling_a.html#incart_hbx