Mom Accused Of Being Grinch: Returns Shop With A Cop Merchandise For Cash

reply to post by yrwehere1


Did you read the following articles that were referenced?

She did not return them to "pay a bill".

not surprised that she turned it in for cash. people around here will literally dig through garbage cans at grocery stores for receipts, then they will go and buy whats on the receipt with their EBT card (food stamps), and then return the item they just purchased for cash via receipt they found.(this will net them $156 a month...you thought it was aluminum cans they were searching for? haha )

not surprised the police over reacted and locked her up either.

its probably the first time that the high and mighty police of this area just discovered what we normal people deal with every time we try to give a homeless person a little bit of change.

although, when they turn around and spend the change we just gave them on booze, us normal folk dont have the option of arresting that person and locking them up.

in fact, i bet if we were to flag down a police officer after an event like that took place, he would simply tell us we shouldnt have given them any money.

so likewise, mr officer.

lesson learned.

although i bet if he had done it as a member of the community, instead of trying to buy back lost respect for the badge, it may have turned out differently.

i just dont understand why they have to do it as "police" unless its some kind of PR stunt.

Shop with a Cop, haha never thought i'd see those words on this site. I used to work for these programs, traveling to different cities all over the country calling and raising the donations for this specific program. And while i "worked" there the money went like this.

me - 20% of anything I raise

my boss - 10% of anything I raise

my boss's boss - 20% of anything I raise

The F.O.P gets 50% and in all my time doing it I never saw them using the money solely for the kids, it was usually more like buying a new grill for the lodges kitchen take the kids with whatevers left.

The program was usually set up to spend $120 per child, and there were many times we would raise over $100,000 and then a few weeks later watch the cops take 10 kids total shopping.

The woman returning the gifts is probably the last thing to get angry about regarding this program.

Who cares why she did it, her motives, or what justifies it. It is NOT a crime. Therefore, she should not have been arrested. Too much self righteousness in this thread.....gag.

reply to post by hotbakedtater


And again, the cop did not arrest, charge, and put her in jail on his own. His supervisor and the prosecutor were involved.

Originally posted by gnosis111
Who cares why she did it, her motives, or what justifies it. It is NOT a crime. Therefore, she should not have been arrested. Too much self righteousness in this thread.....gag.

Kentucky Code: 514.040 Theft by deception.

Doesn't matter what your opinion of her actions were, if they fall under the code, she can be charged.
Apparently the judge and prosecutor and the cop believe she committed a crime. Now they have to prove it.

reply to post by hotbakedtater


Theft By Deception:
someone using deception in order to gain access to services or property

She deceived the people who put on this event. What do you suppose would happen if she asked for cash instead? She of course would be denied. So she used her children to gain property, knowing full well she would then sell the property for cash. She is a scumbag for that and should be treated accordingly, in this case charged with a crime. You are over the top with your '---' language. Tell us what happened to you at the hands of these '---', then perhaps we'll understand your emotional post.

I feel sorry for the kid, but this is just a publicity stunt to make cops look like heroes.

Now they are gonna waste more public money by putting this women through the system. Money that could go to a shelter or some other charity. Her children will have the stigma of going through the state welfare system.

Congratulations KY ---.

You made the papers by manipulating the poor, destroying a child's life, and ripping them away from their mother.

reply to post by Byteman


How were "the poor" manipulated? The father of 2 of the kids said they are not needy. And even if they were, how were they manipulated? The charity was manipulated.

The mother likely would have spent the money on lotto, scratchers, booze, or drugs. They didn't do this as a monetary donation, they did this to give the children not only some warm clothes, but some toys to bring happiness into their lives. The mother selfishly took the gifts to the children for herself and tried to cash out.

reply to post by thegoodearth
I missed the article about her having a previous record for similar offenses, but as I stated, there was information that (at the time) I wasn't aware of. Which doesn't mean she's quilty(I'm not taking her side by the way, but last I heard, this is the United States and she is "Innocent until proven guilty.") That is for the jury to decide if it goes to court.

Anyways, thanks for pointing out that I had missed an article or two concerning this.

reply to post by hotbakedtater


She abused the system took advantage of a police officer and landed herself in jail. Just one of the risks of doing stupid things. Wonder if there's any other aid programs that she abuses? Here your doing all this ranting about what happened and you don't even know what the money was for. Lets put this spin on it. She stole her kids gifts, traded them in for cash to buy crack. This is easily could be the reason. Wouldn't be on your megaphone screaming foul then would you.

P.S.
WTH Spell AMERICA right!

reply to post by thegoodearth

BTW, I never said anything about her maybe needing the money to pay bills in my post.

Why do I think - - like so many threads on ATS - - we are getting one side of a story.

The side/agenda - - the OP wants to push.

I feel bad she felt she "had" to do such a thing and I feel "bad" for the cop whose heart may well have been in the right place in the spirit of the season?
A couple of years ago,my housekeeper at the time fell on hard times: she was frequently abused and had three kids so I did what I could,when I could to help her out and paid her wery well for the work she did for me.
A storm took much of the roof off her shabby mobile home and I decided to get her a gift card to Lowe's so materials could be bought for repair hoping her kids would have some sort of roof over them.Her husband went and got materials and borrowed a trailer to haul them home,I felt really good that I was able to do "something" and not step on pride-full toes in the process.
2 days later,I had a male friend stop by who owns a construction company just to see if he might help even more or if more was needed.The materials had been returned for cash from Lowe's according to their policy at the time and they had used the cash for a barbeque-drunk that actually was still going on...
Lesson learned on my part and yes,people do this sort of thing all the time so my empathy is with the cop.

reply to post by hotbakedtater


IMHO, the basis of the OP depends on how pre-disposed your concept is about the characters on this story.

In the past I've given homeless people cash, only to find them drunk asleep in a bus bench later in the day. Having learned from that experience, I have bought them food which they have not eaten in my presence -- only to later find, they turned it into cash selling to another homeless person for a couple of bucks.

Although not all particular details of this story were presented, I'm sure the arrest decision from a police officer came about based on this woman's moral character judgment observed coupled with her merchandise return actions. They forgot to add "crimes of moral conscience".

Had she not been arrested at the time, would she have gotten arrested using that cash to buy something illegal down the road?

This is your typical "you are damned if you do, damned if you don't" scenario. My vote of confidence goes for the policeman who did not have any obligation to bring hope and illusion to these children. This act of charity was intended exclusively for the children and "family" nucleus, regardless of what was given.

This story is beginning to sound like the perv recently arrested for selling a "how-to" book on harming innocent children and those who are questioning freedom of speech, entrapment, etc. The same small group of people who complain about reciting the pledge of allegiance, want to do away with Christmas, In God We Trust, US flag display and all of the basic foundation & character values that ONCE made this country great. Maybe they would be happier if they packed-up and lived in a free, do-as-you-wish lawless society.

Merry Christmas to you all!

I agree that it seems disgusting on its face. But, unless we know what she did with the money, we cannot be sure. It may have been more important for the kids to go to the dentist than get these gifts. Maybe she told them in advance that the gifts were to be returned, so they would not be disappointed. Or maybe she bought liquor. Who knows? But all of those saying there were other programs available, you cannot be so sure. These programs vary from state to state. Someone who doesn't have to live week by week cannot possibly understand the hardship that comes with that stress. There are many capable, good people who fall through the cracks and end up in black holes which are nearly impossible to escape. Not impossible, but very very difficult almost to the point of impossible. You end up around people who want to drag you back down, because their envy does not want you to escape. Those higher on the socioeconomic ladder do not trust you, because you are not one of them. You have to move heaven and earth to get out of one of these binds.

The thing is, when one achieves a certain level of success, they can cruise along, not wasting mental energy on the things the impoverished think about every day. And if one truly wants to help one out, maybe they should see what that person actually needs, not some PR stunt. Many people help somebody out because it makes them feel good. Nothing wrong with that, but I prefer the anonymous, creditless approach. It reveals a much better character. It is also less dehumanizing for the ones being helped out If people truly realized how lucky they were in certain circumstances, how being raised in another family or having a certain life-changing event might have sent them down the road of those they belittle, they might understand. I never truly understood hardship till I had to deal with it personally. Before then, I had absolutely no clue. People, despite doing what they are supposed to do in helping others, truly do not understand the circumstances, no matter how many elegant words and well-placed phrases they use to indicate otherwise. They also don't realize how many "disposables" we use as fodder to feed this beast we have churning along. If it were not for the exploitation of the disposables, those in cushy jobs would not even have the products they can buy on a whim. We live in a cruel system with some good people in the mix. Sometimes, people forget how cruel a person's circumstances might be. But for the grace of God....

reply to post by orwellianunenlightenment


Beautiful thoughts translated into words!

In the back of my mind, I want it to partially convey the same thoughts on my response above yours.

Well done. Star for you.

When you rant about cops - calling them --- - you devalue your own opinion/viewpoint.

The OP is clearly injecting her own prejudice and slant to this story - - which seems to be her true purpose.

As details emerge - - we will get a clearer picture of what really happened.