Merle Haggard
Merle Haggard, country music star (“Okie from Muskogee”), was convicted of holding up a bar in Bakersfield, California, in 1957. He served three years in state prison. A person who commits a theft offense and is sentenced to a year or more of confinement is an aggravated felon. If he committed the crime nowadays, he would be deportable and ineligible for relief. If he got deported and came back, he could be sent to prison for 20 years. Posted April 24, 2010.