Todd Hutchinson (bread, candy, and a radio -- U.S.A), Elkeno Wallace (hot dog buns -- Bahamas), Jean Valjean (self-evident), numerous gulag victims (see: Solzhenitsyn), unnamed father who got his hand and foot chopped off for stealing a bag of flour in Syria, etc.
Yes, he was a criminal since 14 (maybe earlier) -- facing his first stint at that age. It's debatable whether his reputation followed him in those days, having bounced around towns and cities so much. But he did steal bread later on in his life to -- if Hugo is to be accepted a reliable witness -- feed his family at the time. For this he was imprisoned almost immediately, leading to the creation of Jean Valjean.