Is this a Southern thing?

I'm heading to the Carolinas next week and want to be up on the local customs.

A South Carolina man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for stealing an $80 slab of meat. ... Prosecutors said the sentence was justified because the Aug. 26 theft from Reid's grocery store in Orangeburg was his ninth offense.

Authorities said when a store manager approached Zachary about the missing New York strip and the big bulk under his shirt, he fled, right into the arms of an off-duty police officer.

[...]

Zachary testified he was "massaging" the meat, not stealing it.