Man sentenced for faking illness, skipping bill

BALTIMORE -  

Andrew Palmer took the term dine and dash to another level.

On February 22, the 46-year-old was sentenced to more than a year in prison for his latest attempts to beat the check which usually involved fake seizures and a trip to the hospital.

Officials said just six days after he was released from prison for another dine and dash at Wit and Wisdom Tavern in Inner Harbor East, Palmer ate at Shuckers Restaurant and Bar and then pretended to have a seizure to avoid his bill of $61.29. He was taken to a hospital where doctors could find nothing wrong with him.

Three days later he struck again at Sullivan’s Steak House where he downed over $160 worth of food and drinks before pretending to have a seizure.

On Friday, February 22, 2013, he pled guilty to theft of less than $100 and theft of less than $1,000 for the two incidents. For the first, Baltimore City District Court Judge Karen C. Friedman sentenced him to time already served in jail - 29 days. For the second, she sentenced him to one year in prison. 

The serial check skipper has been convicted more than four dozen times, mostly for eating at restaurants then faking attacks to escape the bills.