A hot dispute over a $1.66 bowl of Texas Tavern chili had a judge serving a Roanoke man with jail time Thursday.

But 33-year-old Charles Brian Ogle appealed his misdemeanor conviction of defrauding the restaurant, ensuring at least one more helping of court proceedings.

Ogle insists he left two bucks on the counter when he finished eating the night of Aug. 24. The staff at the institutional Roanoke eatery says he didn't.

Onlookers in Roanoke General District Court gasped and snickered as Judge Skip Burkart sentenced Ogle to serve four days of a 30-day jail sentence for walking off without paying for his late-night meal.

"Thirty days for a $2 bowl of chili?" one woman exclaimed.

Ogle's defense attorney, Lance Hale, noted that Ogle went back and paid for the chili at a later date. The receipt was presented to the judge in court.

"Mr. Ogle maintains his innocence," Hale said. He declined to comment after the hearing on details of the case.

A surveillance video shown in court recorded Ogle coming into the Church Avenue establishment about 20 minutes before midnight and eating a bowl of chili at the counter. Footage showed his order wasn't rung up at the register.

Off-duty employee Cecil Spradlin, a nine-year veteran of the hamburger stand, testified that he noticed Ogle left no money when he walked off. He went outside and confronted Ogle, who came back, angry and swearing, and insisted he had put $2 down. The heated exchange escalated until employees yelled at Ogle to leave.

Hale argued that the video footage did not prove Ogle left without placing cash on the counter. He suggested that something could have happened to the money -- someone could have taken it, or it might have slipped onto the floor.

Before finding Ogle guilty, Burkart conceded that his angry reaction recorded on tape could be consistent with that of someone falsely accused -- but it could also be the reaction of someone who had been caught, the judge said.

According to court records, Texas Tavern owner Matt Bullington didn't seek charges against Ogle until almost a month later. Bullington said it took him that long to track down who Ogle was so he could fill out the paperwork properly at the magistrate's office.

Even though the amount in question seems trivial, pursuing the case was a matter of principle, Bullington said. Though even petty thefts from the restaurant are rare, he tries to pursue every criminal matter regardless of how small, he said. "If $1.50 doesn't matter, than what's the number that does?" he asked.

The Texas Tavern is renowned for being the only eatery in downtown Roanoke that's open 24 hours. Bullington said he has an eight-camera security system installed. "I want the guy and his wife who might be out at midnight to feel safe in my business at 1 in the morning."